Charlie Sheen, the son and third child of Martin Sheen's four children changed his name from Carlos Irwin Estévez before embarking on his career. This name change was reminiscent of his fathers transition, from Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez.
In 2003 Sheen landed a role alongside Jon Cryer, another '80s star in the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men."
In this sitcom Sheen portrayed a modified version of himself—a reformed "bad boy" who lived with his newly divorced brother and nephew.
Two and a half Men became a success
The show “Two and a half Men” became a success with millions of viewers tuning in each week. Throughout its run it garnered nine Emmy Awards. Sheen himself received four nominations for his work on the show.
During that time period he held the distinction of being the paid actor on television. He earned a $1.8 million, per episode by the season.
Outside of his acting endeavors Sheen gained attention for his Twitter rants where he repeatedly used the catchphrase "Winning!" He even hosted a livestream show called "Sheen's Korner" from his home—dubbed by him as the "Sober Valley Lodge."Following his dismissal Sheen persisted in his dispute, with Lorre by filing a lawsuit against him and Warner Bros. the production company behind "Two and a Half Men " alleging termination. Prior to being let go from the show Sheen had demanded a 50% raise.
Sheen's character made a reappearance
"Two and a Half Men '' carried on without Sheen with Ashton Kutcher joining as a character. Sheen's character was reportedly written out of the show, between seasons eight and nine supposedly meeting a demise. However in the series finale Sheen's character made a reappearance portrayed by a stand in actor.
When it became clear that Charlie Sheen wouldn't be coming back to Two and a Half Men for its season, everyone was uncertain about the show's future. The series was too popular to end. While some thought Jon Cryer's character, Alan could carry the show on his own, they decided t-=o introduce a new character similar to Charlie.
Ashton Kutcher eventually took on that role. Initially someone different was considered. Hugh Grant was approached for the part. Claims he was offered $1 million per episode. However he declined because they wanted him to commit without having any scripts written yet. He wanted to see what they had in mind for his character before signing on.
Although Charlie Sheen's departure from Men was far from friendly and caused tension between him and the show's producers as CBS as a whole there were discussions about him possibly returning for the series finale.
Dynamic between Alan and Charlie
It turns out there were talks about having Sheen make an appearance in the finale. However those plans fell through when Sheen and the writers of Men couldn't agree on how his appearance would be portrayed.
They asked Sheen to deliver a monologue breaking the wall discussing the perils of substance abuse. In addition, Sheen expressed his desire to create a spin off series called "The Harpers" featuring himself and Jon Cryer as the stars.
The original concept, for Two and a Half Men revolved around Alan Harper facing a series of challenges in his life and having to move in with his brother, Charlie who's more successful and polished. A major aspect of the dynamic between Alan and Charlie involved the brother offering guidance and support to his sibling.
In television it's common for actors to portray characters younger or older than their age. It's fascinating how the ages of co stars can differ from the ages of the characters they portray. In the case of Two and a Half Men Jon Cryer is slightly older than Charlie Sheen although only by a month. However they skillfully portray their characters as if there is an age gap between them.