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The American sitcom, Two and a Half Men, was one of the most popular television shows in the United States. The show ran on CBS for 12 seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. 

In its heyday, the show was one of the most viewed sitcoms in America. With the show’s popularity, CBS could afford to pay hefty pay packages for its cast members. So, what is the net worth of the show’s main actors? 

Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher laughing in a scene from 'Two and a Half Men'
Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher | Sonja Flemming/Getty Images

The salaries and net worth of the ‘Two and A Half Men’ main cast

In the show’s first eight seasons, Charlie Sheen played Charlie Harper. His time at Two and a Half Men made him the highest-earning sitcom actor. Sheen was replaced with Ashton Kutcher later in the show but had already amassed a fortune from his past roles at the box office. During his time in the series, Sheen earned $800,000 per episode, which increased to $1,800,000 in the final seasons. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Sheen is worth $10 million.

Judith (Marin Hinkle) earned about $500,000 per episode, according to Screenrant. The actor has been in the film industry for more than 27 years and has accumulated a net worth of $3 million.

Melanie Lynskey, who plays Rose, has been acting ever since she was 17 years old. For her role in the sitcom, Lynskey earned between $200,000 and $300,000. The actor has racked up a fortune of $5 million from her film career.

Ashton Kutcher took over the lead role in the show after the departure of Sheen. The actor earned around $800,000 per episode. Kutcher is also worth a whopping $200 million.

Charlie’s brother, Allan (Jon Cryer), made a significant amount of his wealth from his role in the show. Cryer has also been recognized for his role in the show through numerous nominations for the Emmy award. He, however, had a career before joining the sitcom. The actor earned about $550,000 for every episode, but CBS raised his pay to about $650,000 in the final seasons, according to Screenrant. Cryer is reportedly worth $70 million.

Forbes reported that at the height of its popularity, the show was the most-viewed sitcom with an average viewership of 15.2 million. The numbers attracted massive revenue for the show, with each ad bringing about $207,000. In its 8th season, the show made about $155.1 million in ad revenue for CBS. This translated into Sheen pocketing about $30 million as the lead actor.

In 2011, Charlie Sheen’s public image took a hit, as the actor was seen acting erratically and in some instances violently, leading to Sheen’s firing from the series. Other reasons for his termination included difficulty at work, and inappropriate comments to producers, according to Reuters.

Although Sheen was the lead actor, the series was way too popular to cancel, leading to his character’s on-screen demise and Ashton Kutcher stepping into the lead spot for the final four seasons of the series.

Salary disputes contributed to Sheen’s departure

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‘Two and a Half Men’: Ashton Kutcher Only Took the Role to Make Millions

Sheen told CBS that he deserved an increment in his compensation from $2 million to $3 million, which led to the actor being dropped from the show. The actor also made negative comments about the show’s creator. Sheen is quoted saying:

“Everyone thinks I should be begging for my job back. I’m going to warn them that everybody else will be begging me for their job back. I’m a man of my word. I will finish the show and even do season 10. At this point, because of emotional distress, it’s $3 million an episode, take it or leave it.” 

After the departure of Sheen from the show, the average viewership of the show dropped to between 8-10 million from the average of 15 million when Sheen was the lead actor according to Business Insider.

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