In 2011, the jobs of the crew and cast members of Two and a Half Men were sent into limbo following the termination of sitcom lead Charlie Sheen’s contract. Following his outburst against CBS and showrunner Chuck Lorre, followed by his other set of controversies, including the string of statements referencing drug usage, Warner Bros. eventually showed the door to him.
While most didn’t come forward to tackle the situation until years later, Marin Hinkle, who played Judith on the sitcom, was one of the few who broke silence on the matter at the time.
Marin Hinkle Was Devastated by the Possibility of Sitcom’s Cancellation
Being there from its inception, Marin Hinkle was unsure if the sitcom would continue without Charlie Sheen, as the show was built around his character, who reportedly earned a mammoth $1.8M per episode. But while she was disappointed the amazing show was on the verge of cancellation “all because of a lot of ego-fighting and pain”, she did empathize with Sheen’s situation at the time.
She said:
We’ve been calling each other and we’ve been trying to come up with a way to get out there how we feel about what’s happened with the show. It’s so sad that this may be the end of something amazing all because of a lot of ego-fighting and pain, and obviously the sad condition of Charlie’s health.
On the flip side, her costar Joh Cryer, who opened up about the debacle years later, didn’t beat around the bush when it came to holding Sheen completely responsible for the whole fiasco.
When Two and a Half Men was happening, Charlie was like, the highest-paid actor in television. Yet, he blew it up, so you kind of have to think. I love him, I wish him the best, he should live in good health for the rest of his life, but I don’t know if I want to get in business with him for any length of time.
As for his costar, Cryer recalled that Hinkle was nothing like her onscreen counterpart in Two and a Half Men, as she was brand new to comedy.
Marin Hinkle Often Apologized to Jon Cryer After Their Scenes
Hinkle has been pretty vocal about not relating to Judith, as it was a complete contrast to what she is in real life. Moreover, the actress admitted to not getting many s-xual innuendos, and per Cryer, after filming the rude scenes, Hinkle made sure to apologize to him after the shoot.
He recalled:
it is literally a struggle every week to drag the mean out of her she does she’s not comfortable with it and she will apologize to me after the scenes
But despite being nothing similar to her, Hinkle did an impeccable job playing the character and enjoyed her tenure in the sitcom.
Two and a Half Men is available to stream on Max.
