Who could imagine “two and a half men” without the sweetness Alan Harper of Jon Cryer alongside Charlie Sheen Charlie today? By thinking about the 12 seasons of the sitcom race, it is obvious that the show has become a huge success mainly because of the excessive chemistry of the two actors on the screen. The cast was perfect for these types of characters, and one of the creators of the series, Chuck Lorre – alias the King of sitcoms – played a central role in obtaining Cryer for the role despite a fairly heavy recoil of CBS, where the series was broadcast from 2003 to 2015.
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During the casting process for “Two and a Half Men”, the network clearly indicated from the start that they did not want to Jon Cryer. Do not audition, featured or have something to do with the show, if they could help him. Lorre has been opened on this condition in several interviews since, and in one time, he gave for Wwny -TV, the creator explained: “When we threw` two and a half men, CBS, the leaders of CBS were categorical on one thing – they did not want to hire John Cryer. Absolutely did not want to see him, did not want him to be ahead.
The veteran television producer added in another interview (via the American television archives) that the network had strictly opposed the actor’s throw because it had been in several television drivers before who had failed and had not been broadcast. Lorre, however, insisted to bring him for an audition because he knew that his talent like the two had already worked together, and because the actor’s representatives helped him convince him that Cryer would be excellent for this particular role. So, going against the only warning that CBS had, Lorre trusted his instinct, brought Cryer to hearing, and the rest was in history.
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The perseverance of Chuck Lorre paid generously
Despite the tumultuous working relationship and responsible for disorders that Cryer had with Sheen towards the possible exit of the latter of “Two and a Half Men”, their fun dynamic on the screen remained mainly intact (at least for us, viewers), as far as their characters – and until the brilliance was dismissed for its horrible behavior. Alan and Charlie have built a solid relationship over the years, and even if we could see where many of their interactions were heading for a distance of distance most of the time, they generally managed to smile our faces at least once during each episode. The back and forth and often ridiculously offensive between the two have become quite predictable at the beginning, but it also provided a basic quality to the show on which regular viewers could always count.
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Overall, Chuck Lorre’s difficult decision to throw Jon Cryer despite the initial manifestation of CBS had largely paid off in many ways. At its peak, the series brought more than 28 million viewers and won 47 nominations at the Emmy, of which he had won new, throughout his 12 years. Two of them went to Cryer as an exceptional supporter and head in a comedy series in 2009 and 2012, respectively. I mean, the one who saw him in his role of escape in the classic of John Hughes’ procedure in 1986, “Pretty in Pink”, must have known that he has the juice. Chuck Lorre has certainly done it.
