Jon Cryer turns 60: From the notorious “Show Killer” to the series star

Two Emmys, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an estimated assets of over $ 70 million – on his 60th birthday, US actor Jon Cryer can take an impressive balance. But apart from the mega success with his role of Alan Harper in the cult sitcom “Two and a Half Men”, his career often did anything but round. After the end of the series in 2015, the comedian threatens to slowly catch up with its former reputation as a notorious “Show Killer”.

Cryer’s entry into the film business in the mid -1980s already proved to be a wild roller coaster ride, which initially began very promising. He completed his cinema debut in 1984 with a leading role of Demi Moore (62) in the comedy “A strong number”, two years later he became one of the most iconic film faces of these brightly colored and carefree era as a Teddy Boy “Duckie” Dale in the dramatic teen comedy “Pretty”. However, Jon Cryer should not really be able to build on career highlights for many years. Other teen comedies such as “Morgan clears up” (1987) or “Dudes – hold me, the desert trembles!” (1987) proved to be grandiose flops, even the obtained supporting role in “Superman IV-the world on the abyss” (1987) alongside the then Hollywood superstar Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) did not bring the hoped-for big breakthrough. To date, the work is a worst superman film of all time. The only exception in this bleak series made Cryers participation in the slapstick comedy “Hot Shots-The Mother of all films” (1991) as Lt. Jim “Fischauge” Pfaffenbach. The absurd Persiflage on heroic war films such as “Top Gun”, in which he was also in front of the camera with Charlie Sheen (59) for the first time, became a great success at least commercially.

Cryer’s attempt to start roles in TV series in the 1990s in the face of his staggering film career also proved to be a terrific disaster. All sitcoms in which he participated during the following years, including “The Famous Teddy Z” (1989-1990), “Getting Personal” (1998) or “The Trouble With Normal” (2000), were often set again after the first season. This went so far that the actor from the US magazine “Newsweek” was revealed as “Show Killer” in view of this impressive flop series. “Yes. Newsweek titled me as ‘The Show Killer’,” said the actor later in an interview with “Parade”. “And do you know what? The business just doesn’t work that way. I had internalized it to a certain extent, and I really took it personally. But if you are the right actor for something, you will get it, even if Newsweek calls you a show killer. But I didn’t know that at that time.”

Only with Chuck Lorres (72) sitcom “Two to a Half men” should the leaf turn surprisingly and radically. The TV producer and director enforced Jon Cryer against the skeptical resistance of the studio bosses and was completely correct. The former show killer proved to be a perfect line -up for the role of the notorious loose loose Alan Harper, who, after his divorce with his son Jake (Angus T. Jones, 31), moves in with his hedonistic brother Charlie (Charlie Sheen) – to never leave his house again. “Two and a Half Men” became a huge success between 2003 and 2015 Screen. Even as the unpredictable and increasing drug problems Charlie Sheen in 2011 was replaced by Ashton Kutcher (47), the series continued over four seasons. After the end of the cult series, the former flop guarantee Jon Cryer was a made man who no longer had to worry financially. With a fee of $ 550,000 per episode, he had been one of the best paid comedy stars on US television over more than a decade.

Accordingly, he took it easy in the years after the series-out and was limited to guest roles in various series such as “Navy CIS”, “Will & Grace” or “The Kominsky Method”. It was only in 2023 that he took on a leading role in the sitcom “Extended Family”, in which he embodied a divorced husband, who and his ex have to come together again and again with his ex. However, this did not mean a restart for Cryer: As in the old days, the show was promptly dropped off after the first season.