Holland Taylor is giving her two and a half cents on being underpaid.
The Two and a Half Men actress—who played Evelyn Harper, the mother of Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer) on the CBS show—revealed why she didn’t renew her contract after six years, instead opting to return occasionally as a guest star.
“I stopped being under contract. So, in other words, they would say, ‘Can you do a guest appearance at the end of March?’ And I would say, ‘No, I cannot,’” Taylor said on the Oct. 21 episode of Alchemy with Anthony Mason. “I only did it if I wanted to do it.”
Though the 83-year-old said the producers were “astonished” by her choice, she appreciated the flexibility in scheduling. Plus, she noted that her paycheck wasn’t as big as she would have liked.
“They never paid me very well on that show. I was paid on that show what I had made on a series like eight years before or something,” she said. “And I got four Emmy nominations and they never gave me a raise. They usually do.”
“I loved a lot about that show, but they were not full of courtesies,” Taylor continued. “In any case, when the six years was up, I said, ‘I don’t want to be on a contract anymore but I will visit the show occasionally if you want.’ I mean, I did play the boys’ mother.”
The Legally Blonde star explained that the Two and a Half Men team thought she was negotiating, telling her, “We can’t pay you any more money.”
“I said, ‘You could actually pay me the cost of this building, but don’t bother because I don’t want to continue on under contract,'” she retorted. “And they said, ‘But we can’t afford to give you more.’ I said, ‘I’m cool with it. I just will come back as a guest from time to time.'”
And of course, it wasn’t the only shakeup in the cast. Sheen left the show in 2011 following public struggles with substance abuse and Ashton Kutcher entered as billionaire Walden Schmidt in the later seasons.
To see what the cast is up to now, read on.
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen—the son of Martin Sheen and brother to Emilio Estevez—was one of the original “men” in Two and a Half Men, playing Charlie Harper in the first eight seasons of the CBS sitcom opposite on-screen brother Jon Cryer. The eighth season was cut short in 2011 amid Sheen’s battle with addiction.
He famously clashed with executive producer Chuck Lorre in the press and social media, resulting in his dismissal from the series (and the coinage of phrases like “winning” and “tiger blood”). His character was killed off and later played as a ghost by Kathy Bates.
After exiting Two and a Half Men, Sheen booked the TV version of Anger Management, which aired from 2012 to 2014. Since, he popped up on The Goldbergs and on the big screen in Scary Movie 5, Machete Kills and 9/11.
In 2023, the actor—who shared in 2015 he is HIV-positive—made a cameo as himself on Lorre’s Max series Bookies. He released his memoir The Book of Sheen as well as the two-part documentary aka Charlie Sheen in 2025.
Sheen, who revealed in 2015 that he is HIV-positive, has been sober since late 2017. He shares sons Bob Sheen and Max Sheen with ex-wife Brooke Mueller, daughters Sami Sheen and Lola Sheen with ex-wife Denise Richards and daughter Cassandra Estevez from a previous relationship.
Jon Cryer
Cryer starred in all 12 seasons of Two and a Half Men as Charlie’s divorcee brother Alan Harper.
After the show, Cryer released a 2015 memoir and popped up on shows like Mom, The Ranch, NCIS, Robot Chicken and Lady Dynamite. Cryer then went on to play Lex Luthor on the TV series Supergirl from 2019 to 2021 as well as Jim Kearney on Extended Family, which ran from 2023 to 2024.
Cryer shares daughter Daisy with wife Lisa Joyner as well as son Charlie with ex-wife Sarah Trigger.
Though Cryer agreed to sit down for Netflix’s aka Charlie Sheen, the two aren’t exactly friends. “We don’t have a relationship anymore,” Cryer said on a January 2025 episode of Club Random With Bill Maher. “I wish him the best. We have some mutual friends still, and I’ve heard he’s been sober for a while, which is great to hear.”
Angus T. Jones
Angus T. Jones played the “half man” in Two and a Half Men, starring as Jake, Alan Harper’s son. He became the highest paid child actor on TV at age 17, but then left the series in 2013 after forging down a religious path. However, he did return for the series finale in 2015.
Jones attended University of Colorado Boulder after leaving the sitcom and, at one point, teamed up with Sean Combs‘ son Justin Combs for a media and events company.
In 2023, he made a cameo as himself on Lorre’s Max series Bookies.
Jones continues to lead a life out of the spotlight, but noted in a 2020 Instagram post, “I do music now, go head and get used to it loves.”
Ashton Kutcher
That 70s Show alum Ashton Kutcher joined Two and a Half Men in season nine after Sheen’s infamous exit and stayed through the end of the series in 2015. He played billionaire Walter Schmidt, who purchased Charlie Harper’s house following the character’s death.
After Two and a Half Men wrapped, Kutcher appeared on shows like The Ranch as well as in movies like Vengeance and Your Place or Mine. He’s also a venture capitalist, having invested in companies like Airbnb and Uber.
Kutcher married his costar from That ’70s Show Mila Kunis months after the series wrapped in July 2015. The married duo are parents to daughter Wyatt and son Dimitri.
Conchata Ferrell
Conchata Ferrell popped up in supporting roles throughout her career, including Erin Brockovich, Network, L.A. Law and E/R (not to be confused with ER). As wisecracking housekeeper Berta on Two and a Half Men, she received two Emmy nominations.
After Men ended, Ferrell appeared in Krampus, Grace and Frankie and reunited with Kutcher on The Ranch. She died in October 2020 at 77 years old.
Marin Hinkle
After the CBS sitcom ended, Marin Hinkle—who played Alan’s ex-wife Judith— appeared in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on the big screen, and as part of The Affair, Red Band Society, Madam Secretary, Homeland and Speechless on the small. She then landed the role of Rose Weissman on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which ran from 2017 to 2023.
Hinkle shares son Ben with her ex-husband Randall Sommer.
Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey is best known to Two and a Half Men fans as Rose, the Harper’s kinda strange next-door neighbor. After having a relationship with Charlie, she claimed in season nine that he had died. But in the series finale, it was revealed she kept him prisoner for four years.
Lynskey is known for her roles in films like Sadie, Little Boxes, The Changeover and Pike River, plus her TV performances in shows like Togetherness, Castle Rock, Mrs. America, Candy and Yellowjackets.
Lynskey welcomed a daughter with Jason Ritter in 2018, and the couple wed two years later.
Amber Tamblyn
Amber Tamblyn joined the cast for seasons 11 and 12 as Jenny, Charlie’s long-lost illegitimate daughter.
Since the end of Two and a Half Men, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum has appeared in You Hurt My Feelings, Y: The Last Man, Nostalgia, and Girlfriend’s Day. She also directed and co-wrote the 2016 film Paint It Black.
Tamblyn wed David Cross in 2012 and they welcomed daughter Marlow five years later.
Holland Taylor
Holland Taylor starred in all 12 seasons of Two and a Half Men as Evelyn, Alan and Charlie’s mother.
Afterwards, The Practice alum appeared in several more TV shows, including The Morning Show, The Chair, Hollywood, and Mr. Mercedes. Her list of film credits has also grown to include Motherland, Quiz Lady, The Stand In, Bombshell and Gloria Bell.
Taylor has been in a relationship with Sarah Paulson since 2015.
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