For 12 wild seasons between 2003 and 2015, Two and a Half Men reigned supreme on CBS, mixing dysfunctional family comedy with a cocktail of sarcasm, booze, and sibling chaos. The show’s success made household names out of its cast — and turned their paychecks into some of the biggest in TV history.
From the Charlie Sheen years to Ashton Kutcher’s late-in-the-game arrival, Two and a Half Men consistently topped ratings and justified its hefty budgets. As the show grew in popularity, its stars’ salaries ballooned with it, eventually hitting record-breaking numbers. But money didn’t always mean happiness for everyone involved.
Here’s a look at how Angus T. Jones, Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher, and Charlie Sheen earned (and sometimes walked away from) millions while helping make one of television’s most iconic sitcoms.
| Number of Seasons | Number of Episodes | Network | IMDb Rating | Rotten Tomatoes Rating | Streaming Platform |
| 12 | 262 | CBS | 7.1 | 65% | Peacock |
8. Conchata Ferrell
Nobody could boss around Charlie Harper like Berta. Conchata Ferrell’s portrayal of the housekeeper who had zero patience for her employer’s antics was one of the show’s funniest and most underrated performances. Despite being a secondary character with fewer lines than the main trio, Ferrell was far from underpaid. She earned more than $1 million a year, and at her peak, she reportedly made $150,000 per episode (via Celebrity Net Worth).
Considering she often stole scenes with a single deadpan insult, that paycheck seems completely deserved. Ferrell’s run as Berta was such a hit that her character went from a recurring presence to a series regular. Her passing in 2020 was a huge loss for the industry, but her time on Two and a Half Men is still celebrated by fans.
Charlie Sheen gave her a tribute by writing on X.
An absolute sweetheart a consummate pro a genuine friend a shocking and painful loss.
an absolute sweetheart
a consummate pro
a genuine friend
a shocking and painful loss.Berta,
your housekeeping
was a tad suspect,
your "people"keeping was perfect.💕©️💕 pic.twitter.com/cJMK8APgQV
— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) October 13, 2020
Berta might have been cleaning Charlie’s house, but she also wiped the floor with everyone else’s comebacks.
aka Charlie Sheen: What Is the Infamous Phenomenon Tied to the Two and A Half Men Star?
7. Marin Hinkle
Marin Hinkle’s Judith may not have been on screen as much as Charlie, Alan, or Jake, but when she did appear, she was usually holding Alan’s wallet hostage. Hinkle was in over 100 episodes, playing Alan’s ex-wife who never missed an opportunity to remind him about his alimony payments.
For her efforts, Hinkle reportedly earned around $500,000 per episode in the later seasons (via The Richest, 2009 data). While the details of her earlier paychecks are less clear, it’s safe to assume she received a steady pay bump as the show went on. That’s not a bad deal considering Judith was technically a supporting character and spent most of her screen time giving Alan the stink-eye.
Judith might have been cashing alimony checks, but Marin Hinkle was cashing sitcom history.
6. Holland Taylor
Holland Taylor brought an icy elegance to Evelyn Harper, Charlie and Alan’s emotionally distant (but amazingly sharp) mother. Taylor’s Evelyn was rarely the warm and fuzzy type, but she always delivered biting one-liners that could make even Charlie pause mid-whiskey sip.
Taylor was paid an estimated $75,000 per episode (via Celebrity Net Worth). Compared to the salaries of the leads, this was a bit on the modest side, but considering Evelyn’s appearances became less frequent as the show went on, it was still a solid figure. Taylor’s knack for playing sharp-tongued, sophisticated women meant every one of her appearances was memorable — and worth every penny to CBS.
Evelyn Harper didn’t just raise Charlie and Alan — she raised the bar for sitcom moms everywhere.
5. Melanie Lynskey
As Rose, the neighbor who somehow turned stalking into an art form, Melanie Lynskey was one of Two and a Half Men’s secret weapons. At first, Lynskey reportedly earned around $200,000 per episode (via E Celebrity Spy), but as Rose’s popularity skyrocketed, so did her appearances — and likely her salary.
However, Lynskey made a surprising career move that shocked many in Hollywood. Rather than negotiating for more money like her co-stars, she actually asked to work less. Lynskey shared (via Variety),
I went and did something kind of strange in the audition, and they were super into it. She was written as being quite sexy and threatening. And I was like, what if she just honestly doesn’t know there’s a problem? She’s so sweet and you’d meet her in the grocery store and say, ‘She’s adorable.’ And she’s like, ‘I’ll cut you into pieces.’
Instead of doubling down on her role and collecting bigger paychecks, Lynskey made the unusual choice to step back and become a recurring character. She said,
That was why I became recurring, so I could come and go. People were renegotiating to get raises, and I was like, how about I renegotiate for less money?
One industry professional even warned her that she “could become a millionaire” if she stayed fully committed to the show. Lynskey, however, chose her personal and creative happiness over financial gain. She said,
No, I get it. I do. That sounds great, but I also saw the path that was going on… It was not, financially, the greatest choice, but for my life, it was the best choice.
It’s rare to see an actor willingly take a pay cut in the middle of a hit series, but Lynskey’s decision paid off creatively. She has since gone on to enjoy a thriving career in film and television.
Rose may have stalked Charlie, but Lynskey ran from the big paycheck. But she still landed on her feet.
4. Angus T. Jones
Angus T. Jones practically grew up in front of America’s eyes. Cast as Jake Harper at just 10 years old, Jones quickly became the highest-paid child actor on television. He started with a signing bonus and was earning over $200,000 per episode in the early days (via Celebrity Net Worth). By the time he turned 17, that figure had jumped to $350,000 per episode — a staggering amount for a teenager still figuring out algebra homework.
But the money didn’t exactly buy happiness. Toward the end of his run, Jones publicly expressed discomfort with the show’s content and shocked fans with a plea. He said (via NDTV),
If you watch Two and a Half Men, please stop watching Two and a Half Men. I’m on Two and a Half Men. I don’t want to be on it. Please stop watching it. Please stop filling your head with filth, please.
Jones even went as far as calling the series the work of “the enemy,” claiming that audiences were being brainwashed by its content. He further said,
People say it’s just entertainment. The fact that it’s entertainment — do some research on the effects of television and your brain and I promise you, you’ll have a decision to make when it comes to the television and especially with what you watch on the television. It’s bad news.
Ultimately, Jones walked away before the final season, but not before pocketing millions for his years on the series. Jake may have been clueless on screen, but Jones’ bank account was definitely doing the math.
3. Jon Cryer
Jon Cryer was the glue that held Two and a Half Men together — quite literally. As Alan Harper, Cryer was the only actor to appear in every single episode of the show, surviving Charlie Sheen’s departure, Ashton Kutcher’s arrival, and even Jake’s eventual exit. Cryer’s salary grew steadily along with the show’s popularity.
While his exact early earnings are less clear, by the middle seasons, Cryer was reportedly pulling in close to $550,000 per episode. Once Kutcher came aboard in Season 9, Cryer’s paycheck jumped again to about $620,000 per episode (via Celebrity Net Worth). Not bad for the guy playing TV’s most chronically broke chiropractor.
Still, Cryer was quick to point out that his salary was nowhere near Sheen’s record-breaking numbers. He had a pretty colorful way of explaining why. He said (via EW),
The dictator of North Korea was a guy named Kim Jong-Il. He acted crazy all the time and thus got enormous amounts of aid from countries who were so scared of him that they would shovel money at him. Well, that’s what happened here. Sheen’s negotiations went off the charts because his life was falling apart. Me, whose life was pretty good at that time, I got a third of that.
Interestingly, even at his peak, Cryer was still earning less per episode than Kutcher, despite being the backbone of the series. But for fans, Alan’s neurotic charm and terrible luck with women were worth every cent CBS paid.
2. Ashton Kutcher
When Charlie Sheen exited the show in spectacular fashion, CBS faced the impossible task of filling the bowling shirt-shaped void. Enter Ashton Kutcher, who joined the cast in Season 9 as billionaire Walden Schmidt. Kutcher’s arrival brought curiosity, huge ratings, and — most importantly — an even bigger paycheck.
Kutcher signed on for a massive $700,000 per episode (via Who), making him one of the highest-paid actors on television at the time. What’s interesting is that, unlike his co-stars, Kutcher’s salary never increased after he joined the show. But considering he was already making nearly three-quarters of a million dollars per episode from the get-go, there probably wasn’t much to complain about.
Kutcher’s tenure breathed new life into the series. But some fans felt Two and a Half Men was never quite the same without Charlie Harper. Still, his star power kept the show running for four more seasons. So, the casting gamble paid off.
Every Major Show Charlie Sheen Was in After Two and a Half Men
1. Charlie Sheen
Before the public meltdowns, winning catchphrases, and headlines, Charlie Sheen was the undisputed king of sitcom salaries. Playing the womanizing jingle writer Charlie Harper, Sheen started out making $800,000 per episode. It was already more than what Kutcher or Cryer would earn in later seasons.
But Sheen’s paycheck didn’t stop there. By the final season before his infamous departure, he was reportedly earning a jaw-dropping $1.9 million per episode (via Forbes), making him the highest-paid actor on television at the time.
Sheen’s departure came after a highly publicized feud with creator Chuck Lorre. It was fueled in part by Sheen’s personal ongoing struggles. Still, time seemed to soften Sheen’s stance later on. Before the show wrapped for good, he told TV Guide, while talking about the show’s creator, Lorre (via US Magazine),
He was doing his job, I was doing mine. At the end of the day, the guy’s a genius. Look at what he does. I don’t have to spend time with him anymore for him to be brilliant.
Despite the drama, Sheen’s Charlie Harper remains one of TV’s most iconic sitcom characters — and his record-breaking salary still turns heads today.
Two and a Half Men might have ended years ago, but its legacy lives on through reruns and streaming platforms — and so do the jaw-dropping salaries its cast commanded.
What do you think about how much the cast made? Do you think Jon Cryer’s wallet deserved a little more? Let us know in the comments.
The sitcom Two and a Half Men is currently streaming on Peacock.
