“I had no idea how to do it with him”: Chuck Lorre’s Initial Idea For Ashton Kutcher’s ‘Two and a Half Men’ Role Was So Boring It Would’ve Bombed Terribly

Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen had a falling out at the peak of Two and a Half Men, which led to the abrupt firing of Sheen. Instead of recasting the iconic character, the show decided to kill him off. The show brought in Ashton Kutcher’s billionaire character Walden Schmidt to replace Charlie Harper. Lorre once shared that his initial plans for Kutcher were totally different.

Chuck Lorre | Credits: iDominick, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lorre shared that he had pitched the character to be somewhat similar to that of Sheen’s character. However, he realized that he wanted to move past that character and gave Kutcher a completely different personality. It turned out to be a good move as Two and a Half Men was saved from bombing terribly.

Chuck Lorre opens up about replacing Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher in a still from Two and a Half Men | Credits: CBS

Chuck Lorre thought CBS was done with Two and a Half Men when Charlie Sheen was fired from the show. Both Lorre and CBS knew that Sheen’s Charlie Harper was the MVP of the show and it would be very difficult to replace him. Lorre’s initial choice was to cast Hugh Grant in the role, which would’ve taken the show in a different direction.

During an old interview, courtesy of the Archive of American Television, Lorre shared that he couldn’t find anyone who could play the flamboyant drunken womanizer and not offend audiences. He shared that he had met Grant but the actor decided that it was not the right role for him. It was at that point that Les Moonves, a former CBS exec, suggested Ashton Kutcher to him.

Lorre initially believed Kutcher was too young for the role. However, when he got to meet him upon Moonves’ insistence, he found him to be a remarkable human being and a crafty actor. However, Lorre just didn’t know what to do with the actor. He shared in the video, “Ashton’s a remarkable human being as well as a very crafty actor and I had no idea how to do it with him.”

His initial idea was to make him an actor with an entourage. However, he revealed that he soon retracted that pitch, realizing that he didn’t want to go down that path of darkness again. He shared:

Meeting Kutcher eventually gave him the idea about what he could do. According to Lorre, Kutcher was really brilliant with social media and the internet. Lorre shared, “Let’s go away from entourage and go towards Mark Zuckerberg but gorgeous.” Lorre also added the element of heartbreak to Walden’s character making him distinct from Charlie.

Despite fans calling for Sheen’s return every now and then, Kutcher was able to somewhat capture the Two and a Half Men fanbase with his character. Had the show tried to make Kutcher into another Charlie, the show would’ve been ruined forever.

Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen’s falling out and reconciliation

Charlie Sheen in a still from Two and a Half Men | Credits: CBS

Charlie Sheen’s personal troubles got the better of him and he reportedly decided to quit the show after season seven. However, it was later reported that he signed a new contract for two more seasons at $1.78 million per episode (via Stuff.co.nz). However, midway through Season 8, Sheen once again entered drug rehabilitation and the show was put on hiatus.

However, CBS was done with his erratic behavior once he went on a verbal tirade against Chuck Lorre in multiple interviews (via TMZ). After a couple of months of deliberations, Sheen’s contract was terminated in March 2011, citing “moral turpitude” (via EW). Sheen later sued Lorre and WB for $100 million, which was later settled in court.

In 2018, Sheen apologized to Lorre during The Kyle and Jackie O Show. He shared, “I was really stupid and juvenile. [Chuck]’s one of the best and the brightest that this industry has ever had the pleasure of witnessing” (via E! News). Lorre too appeared to have forgiven Sheen, as he shared with Variety:

Sheen went on to appear in Lorre’s comedy series Bookie. The two celebrities have since let the bygones be bygones. Sheen appears to be in a much better place now.

Two and a Half Men is now available for streaming on Peacock.