Jon Cryer has opened up about his complicated relationship with Charlie Sheen, revealing that participating in the Netflix documentary about his former co-star helped him process feelings he had been carrying for years, including frustration not just with Sheen, but with the public that enjoyed his downfall.
Speaking on The View on Friday, Cryer reflected on his decision to take part in aka Charlie Sheen, which covered the actor’s career, relationships and addiction struggles.
“I had a lot of mixed feelings about being a part of that because 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.”
The reason for that frustration, Cryer explained, was the glee with which some people responded to Sheen’s public unravelling.
“I knew him as a friend, as a coworker, so it was really painful to see all that and see that craziness and see a lot of people enjoying it. So that’s part of why I kind of wanted to, obviously, say my side of the story.”
The two actors starred together on Two and a Half Men for eight seasons from 2003 to 2011, before Sheen was fired following public meltdowns, clashes with creator Chuck Lorre and severe addiction struggles.
Sheen had accused Cryer of being a “turncoat, a traitor, a troll” for not reaching out during that period.
Ashton Kutcher replaced Sheen for the show’s final four seasons until it ended in 2015.
In the documentary, Cryer also spoke honestly about the pay disparity between them.
Sheen was earning close to $2 million per episode in his final year, while Cryer was on around $550,000.
He compared Sheen’s escalating contract demands to a geopolitical strategy.
“The dictator of North Korea was a guy named Kim Jong-Il. He acted crazy all the time and thus got enormous amounts of aid from countries who were so scared of him that they would shovel money at him. Well, that’s what happened here. His 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.”
The documentary appears to have had a quietly reconciling effect.
Sheen texted Cryer afterwards to thank him for taking part, and Cryer said he would be open to continuing to rebuild the relationship.
“Yeah, I would. It’s funny because every now and then an article comes out that we’re arguing, and it’s just not the case.”
Sheen, for his part, said last month: “Jon’s a lovely man and a very talented guy.”
