Jon Cryer is opening up about his longtime relationship with former co-star Charlie Sheen and where their friendship currently stands. The two actors portrayed brothers in the sitcom “Two and a Half Men” for eight seasons before Sheen was fired from the series. Their relationship later became strained after Sheen publicly criticized Cyer and labeled him a “traitor.”
Cryer’s latest comments come following his participation in the 2025 documentary “aka Charlie Sheen.”
On the May 1 episode of “The View,” Jon Cryer briefly talked about his former co-star, Charlie Sheen, while promoting his new musical. When asked about his participation in the Netflix documentary, “aka Charlie Sheen,” the actor said he had “mixed feelings” about doing it.
“Obviously, he’s a very complicated guy, and we had a complicated relationship. But mostly, I realized that I wasn’t mad at him anymore; I was still kind of mad at America,” Cryer said. In 2011, Sheen had highly publicized meltdowns before and after being fired from “Two and a Half Men.”
Sheen’s erratic behavior became tabloid fodder, and Cryer said the public seemed to “enjoy” seeing the actor go “off the rails.” Cryer continued, “I knew him as a friend and as a co-worker, and so it was painful to see all that.”
Jon Cryer Received A Text From His Former Co-Star
Cryer shared that part of his reason for participating in the documentary was to tell his side of the story, saying that many people who knew the actor came out to say “truthful, tough” things. “If the time is to be honest, let’s be honest,” Cryer said.
“aka Charlie Sheen” documented the actor’s career, controversies, and struggles with addiction. Apart from Cryer, others who participated include Sheen’s ex-wives, Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller, his longtime friend Sean Penn, “Two and a Half Men” showrunner Chuck Lorre, his family members, and Sheen himself.
Cryer revealed that Sheen texted him shortly after the documentary was released to thank him for agreeing to be interviewed. When asked by “The View” hosts whether he was open to repairing their relationship, he said yes, adding that they aren’t really even arguing and warning the audience that not every headline that comes out is true.
Charlie Sheen Called Jon Cryer A ‘Traitor’
“Two and a Half Men” premiered in 2003. It focused on the Harper brothers, Charlie (Sheen) and Alan (Cryer), as they navigated their new living arrangement after Alan, newly divorced, and his son moved in with Charlie in his beach house.
The series dominated ratings during its run, drawing millions of viewers. In 2011, however, Sheen’s contract was terminated following his public meltdowns and conflicts with Lorre. His character was killed off on the first episode of Season 9, and Ashton Kutcher was brought in to portray Walden Schmidt, the wealthy man who purchases Charlie’s house. The series continued for four more seasons without Sheen.
Following his firing, Sheen lashed out at his former co-star for not reaching out to him. “He’s a turncoat, a traitor, a troll,” he said.
Jon Cryer Talked About Pay Discrepancy
In the documentary, Cryer revealed the large pay gap between him and Sheen. In his final year on the show, Sheen reportedly negotiated a salary bump to $1.9 million per episode. Cryer revealed that he was paid only “a third” of that.
The actor said he thinks his co-star got a pay increase in his last season because of what was happening in his life. Cryer compared Sheen to Kim Jong-Il, explaining how the North Korean dictator gets “enormous amounts of aid” from countries that were “scared” of him. “Negotiations went off the charts because his life was falling apart. Me, whose life was pretty good at that time, I got a third of that,” he revealed.
Charlie Sheen Called The Actor A ‘Lovely Man’
In April, Sheen offered an update about his relationship with Cryer. The actor said he always says he’s going to reach out to his former co-star, but he never follows through. “I don’t like to bother people, but I think Jon would be open to that. Jon’s a lovely man and a very talented guy,” he said to PEOPLE.
The actor also expressed his gratitude to the people who participated in the documentary, saying that it was “very sweet” and “very cool.” “They could have easily said, ‘Go f-ck yourself. I’m not interested. I lived it. I don’t need to talk about it again.’ And I would have been, ‘OK, that’s fine.’ But they didn’t, and they stepped up,” he said.
