Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre has revealed that he has “healed” his relationship with the show’s former star Charlie Sheen.
The news comes ahead of the launch of How to Be a Bookie, a new comedy television series created by Lorre and starring Sheen.
In 2011, Sheen was fired from Two and a Half Men after his behaviour became increasingly erratic. It culminated in a very public breakdown in relations between Lorre and Sheen, with the latter describing the former as a “clown” and “a stupid, stupid man”, as well as a number of anti-semitic slurs.
Charlie Sheen with the cast of ‘Two and a Half Men’ at the People’s Choice Awards in 2004 (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Sheen, who rose to fame thanks to his roles in Platoon and Wall Street, was the highest paid actor on television at the time, but he was replaced by Ashton Kutcher on the show.
However, with Lorre and co-creator Nick Bakay looking for a lead actor for How to Be a Bookie, Lorre has revealed in an interview with Variety that he felt Sheen was perfect for the new role and approached him with an offer.
“I was nervous, but almost as soon as we started talking, I remembered we were friends once,” Lorre shared. “And that friendship just suddenly seemed to be there again.”
“I don’t want to be too mawkish about it, but it was healing. And he was also totally game to make fun of himself. When he came to the table read of that episode, I walked up, and we hugged. It was just great.”
Two and a Half Men ran for twelve seasons in total from 2003 to 2015. Reflecting on that success with Sheen, Lorre said: “We did 170 episodes together before it all fell apart. And more often than not, we had a good time.”
He went on to clarify that despite their past rift, the relationship between himself and Sheen is in a better place in 2023. “Assuming he’s in a good place, I’m in a good place,” he said.
In 2021, Sheen reflected on his public feud with Lorre in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment.
“There was 55 different ways for me to handle that situation, and I chose number 56,” he said. “And so, you know, I think the growth for me post-meltdown or melt forward or melt somewhere — however you want to label it — it has to start with absolute ownership of my role in all of it. It was desperately juvenile.”
How to Be a Bookie is set to premiere on HBO Max in the United States on November 30.
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