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Ashton Kutcher’s Walden Schmidt was never the right replacement for Charlie Sheen’s Charlie Harper inTwo and a Half Men. Replacing the sharp-tongued womanizer Charlie wasn’t an easy task and Chuck Lorre didn’t go for an exact replacement either. Kutcher’s character was more of a goofball and he himself admitted that he wasn’t trying to be Charlie Sheen/Harper in any way.
However, Lorre did a decent job with another replacement in the series. When Angus T. Jones, who played Alan Harper’s son Jake, left the show at the end ofSeason 10, he was replaced with Amber Tamblyn’s Jenny Harper. She was introduced in the first episode of the eleventh season as Charlie’s estranged daughter.
Amber Tamblyn was a better replacement inTwo and a Half Menthan Ashton Kutcher
Charlie Sheenwas fired after the eighth season following his statements against showrunnerChuck Lorre. In the ninth season premiere, he was killed offscreen andAshton Kutcherwas instead brought in as a replacement character. Many fans were not happy with this replacement as Kutcher was not a like-for-like replacement for Sheen in the series.
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While Kutcher’s Walden didn’t work for fans, there was another character whom fans felt should’ve been introduced a lot earlier. Angus T. Jones left the show in a scandalous manner too, accusing the show of going against his Christian values. He shared in an interview with a Christian website that the show was“filth that contradicts his moral values,”adding that he was“sick of being a part of it”(via USA Today).
Jones left the show at the end ofSeason 10but in amore amicable manner than Sheen. Amber Tamblyn replaced him as Jenny Harper, the daughter of Charlie and a gender-switched version of him. She had the same drinking and womanizing problem and carefree attitude as Charlie. In fact, she served as a better replacement for Charlie than Jake.
While Lorre nailed Tamblyn’s role, fans felt that he may have missed the mark with the timing of her introduction. The show needed to put Charlie and Jenny in the same room so that fans could see his fatherly affection towards his estranged daughter.
Tamblyn’s character saw some character development in the series. She decides to settle down by the end of the series. It is sad that Lorre didn’t give us enough time to get invested in the character.
Even Chuck Lorre wasn’t initially sure that Ashton Kutcher would work
Chuck Lorre thought CBS was done withTwo and a Half Menwhen 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.
“This single scene was better than last 4 seasons”: All Arnold Schwarzenegger Needed Was a Cameo to Outshine Ashton Kutcher in Two and a Half Men
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 (via YouTube). However, Lorre just didn’t know what to do with the actor.
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 wanted to make Kutcher into“Mark Zuckerberg but gorgeous.”Lorre also added the element of heartbreak to Walden’s character, making him distinct from Charlie.
Two and a Half Menis now available for streaming on Peacock.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3018
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
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Ashton KutcherCharlie SheenTwo and a Half Men
