Jon Cryer's career has had a lot of twists and turns over the decades. But you may be shocked to learn that at one point, he was asked to star in Quentin Tarantino's violent classic "Reservoir Dogs."
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00:00John Cryer's career has had a lot of twists and turns over the decades, but you may be
00:05shocked to learn that at one point, he was asked to star in Quentin Tarantino's violent
00:10classic Reservoir Dogs.
00:13John Cryer's long career in the entertainment industry began in the 1980s, when he was still
00:18a teenager. After debuting in the romantic comedy No Small Affair alongside Demi Moore
00:23in 1984, he catapulted to fame in the 1986 John Hughes classic Pretty in Pink as the
00:29iconic 80s nerd Ducky. Yet in the decades following his movie debut, Cryer gradually
00:35appeared in fewer and fewer films, with Superman IV, The Quest for Peace, and Hotshots being
00:40some of the few big projects he was involved in. By the 90s, he had transitioned mostly
00:45to television roles, but while he remained in demand as a guest star, his attempts to
00:50headline a series all flopped, with all of his shows quickly canceled.
00:56Two decades after his film debut, Cryer suddenly had a career resurgence when he landed the
01:01role of Alan in the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. Starting in 2003, the long-running comedy
01:07series was on air for an impressive 12 seasons before it ended in 2015. The part earned him
01:13two Emmys, one for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009 and another
01:18as Lead Actor in 2012. But even years before the show's finale, there were major controversies
01:25that dragged the production down. One of the most notorious controversies was the chaotic
01:29departure of Cryer's co-star Charlie Sheen in 2011. Executives at Warner Bros. Television
01:35fired the actor, who is currently awash in scandal, for too many missed rehearsals, forgetting
01:40lines, and for simply making the set a toxic work environment. The negative press surrounding
01:46the series then continued with the damaging remarks of actor Angus Jones, who called it
01:51filth and begged viewers to stop watching.
01:55The show lived on for a while after the exit of Sheen, with Ashton Kutcher brought on board
02:00to boost ratings. But after four seasons anchored by Cryer and Kutcher, the network finally
02:05pulled the plug in 2015.
02:07Following the conclusion to the Two and a Half Men series, John Cryer secured an iconic
02:12role as the infamous villain Lex Luthor in Supergirl in 2018. Cryer was featured in 20
02:20the last few seasons of the superheroine's show, and he also made an appearance as the
02:24legendary supervillain in several others of the DC Arrowverse, including Arrow, Batwoman,
02:29The Flash, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
02:32When Supergirl ended in 2021, though, so did Cryer's time as Lex Luthor. Even though fans
02:38hoped he might continue the role in the series Superman & Lois, Luthor was ultimately recast.
02:44The former Walking Dead star Michael Cutlets took on the role instead. Cryer cleared the
02:49air about the recasting by posting on Twitter, sharing,
02:52"'For the record, the folks at DC were very cool and gave me a heads-up that the show
02:57was going a different way with the character before they started looking. Most of the time,
03:02actors learn about this stuff when it comes out in the trades. I'm grateful they were
03:06classy about it.'"
03:07In 2011, while still starring on Two and a Half Men, Cryer accepted the lead role in
03:12the animated Pixar film Planes. At the time, the actor seemed ecstatic about the news,
03:17as he told ET,
03:18"'To be a part of a Disney movie is a blast because every person has that connection with
03:23Disney movies that they had as a kid. Being a part of a Disney movie is something I have
03:27always wanted to do. When this opportunity presented itself, I just jumped on board.'"
03:33But just a few months before the scheduled release of the movie in summer 2013, the studio
03:37announced that Dane Cook had replaced Cryer. No explanation for the switch was given, though
03:42director Clay Hall emphasized in a press release that the addition of Cook would give the main
03:47character, Dusty, both a quick wit and an edge. Ultimately, though the film was a critical
03:53failure, it did well enough to earn a sequel, which also starred Cook.
03:57Probably the most substantial reason that John Cryer hasn't appeared much in entertainment
04:01news recently is simply because his new comedy show on NBC hasn't come out yet. In 2022,
04:08it was announced that Cryer would be executive producing and headlining a new comedy that's
04:13set to co-star Donald Faison and Abigail Spencer. So far, though, the show hasn't begun filming
04:18yet or even been given a name, much less a firm release date. The family comedy will
04:23be about the complicated nature of life with kids after a divorce and the drama that can
04:27arise even as the former couple gets along. It's far too early to speculate about how
04:32the show will perform or whether it will have legs on the network, but if it's a hit, Cryer
04:37will be back in the spotlight for another sitcom success.
04:42During his career, there were several major roles early on that Cryer auditioned for but
04:47didn't get, any one of which could have significantly altered the trajectory of his career. Cryer
04:52auditioned for the lead role in the 1985 classic Back to the Future, but was ultimately rejected
04:57in favor of Michael J. Fox. He was also asked to audition for the role of Mr. Pink in Quentin
05:02Tarantino's 1992 classic Reservoir Dogs, but Cryer declined because he didn't fully understand
05:08the script. Steve Buscemi got the job instead. Cryer later realized his mistake, telling
05:14Howard Stern he still regretted the decision.
05:16"...I just had to beg off and not audition for what ended up being a brilliant movie."
05:23He also auditioned for the part of Chandler in Friends, but he told James Corden that
05:26his audition tape didn't make it to the producers in time.
05:30"...and she packaged up the tape of me doing my best Chandler bang, sent it to Los Angeles,
05:35and it got stuck at customs."
05:37He's since said that he loves Matthew Perry's performance on the show. Cryer told Howard
05:41Stern he would have been decent as Chandler, but not up to Perry's level, which took the
05:46sting out of losing the role. He said,
05:48"...when I see an actor hit it out of the park, it's like, well, of course, no wonder
05:53they gave it to that guy."
05:54During the Writers Guild of America strike in 2007, when all of Hollywood was effectively
05:59shut down, Two and a Half Men was one of the numerous productions put on hold. But John
06:04Cryer didn't simply take a break from work during this period. Instead, he showed solidarity
06:09with his fellow creatives by participating in the massive labor action. Cryer told A
06:14Socialite's Life,
06:15"...it's sad that this has been really hard for a lot of people. Most of the crew on our
06:20show are really gonna miss the money, and with Christmas coming up, this is just hellish.
06:25But I really feel like their anger, which is absolutely justified, should be directed
06:30at the studios. They've been intransigent and ridiculous in the negotiations."
06:37Just as John Cryer's time as Allen Harper was coming to a close with the end of Two
06:41and a Half Men, the actor completed his memoir, So That Happened, released in 2015. The book
06:47tells the story of working in Hollywood from his perspective, along with the important
06:51relationships he's formed with other stars in the industry, such as Charlie Sheen, Demi
06:56Moore, Molly Ringwald, and many more. As Cryer explained on Good Morning America, it was his
07:01manager and agent that approached him with the idea to tell his tale, which the actor
07:05reluctantly agreed to only after the duo secured a book deal for him.
07:09Of particular note in the book is his discussion of Sheen's infamous meltdown and firing from
07:15Two and a Half Men.
07:16"...Charlie made the choice that that was not the life he wanted anymore."
07:20Cryer said that he'd reached out to Sheen about writing the book, and that his old co-star
07:24was supportive of him.
07:26Outside of his career in the entertainment industry, John Cryer has a deep fascination
07:31with true crime podcasts. He also follows controversial court cases, especially the
07:36investigation and trial of Adnan Saeed that was thoroughly covered in the popular Serial
07:41podcast.
07:42By 2016, Cryer had already taken this hobby to Twitter, where he discussed theories with
07:47other podcast hosts and those deeply interested in the subject. Eventually, Cryer's social
07:52media interactions led to his being asked by Susan Simpson of Undisclosed to host segments
07:58for the second season of the podcast, which she enthusiastically accepted.
08:03In an interview with Rolling Stone, Cryer said,
08:05"...I'm not a lawyer. I just have an avid interest in this stuff, and the Undisclosed
08:11team was hoping that I would host a fan interaction show like The Talking Dead is for The Walking
08:16Dead."
08:17Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, John Cryer became vocal about his opposition
08:22to Donald Trump. In an episode of The Real, Cryer compared his former co-star Sheen to
08:28Trump, saying,
08:29"...I worked with a guy who also, whenever he said whatever came to the top of his head,
08:34people loved it. And people loved it even more when he said horrible things."
08:38Cryer explained that, having lived through it once, those traits weren't what he wanted
08:43from a political leader.
08:44"...I don't want people to pick the president based on entertainment value."
08:48After four years of Trump's presidency, the actor's outspokenness only increased and led
08:54to a Twitter feud with Representative Matt Gaetz in 2020 for his staunch support of the
08:59GOP leader. A month later, Cryer was so disgusted with the actions of the president that he
09:05tweeted,
09:06"...I'm a registered independent voter. I voted for and supported both Republicans and Democrats
09:11in the past, but the GOP's conversion to the cult of Trump has made it clear. I will never
09:17vote for another Republican ever again. Period."
09:21For a few years leading up to its premiere in May 2022, John Cryer collaborated with
09:26his mother, Gretchen, to create a new play series called True Stories. The stage production
09:31was a collection of individual stories by solo performers about problems with men, parent
09:37issues, and coming of age, with Cryer's one-man show being called The Actor's Nightmare. Cryer
09:42ultimately pulled various pieces from his memoir to craft a show about his life experiences.
09:48He told Spectrum News NY1,
09:50"...It's mostly about my relationship to starting in the theater, and it's ironically a love
09:55letter to the theater, even though it's got Nightmare in the title. Because once COVID
09:59hit and we were sort of robbed of any life in the theater, you realized what was missing.
10:05So I'd written a book years ago that had a lot of stories about my life in the theater,
10:09and we realized there was actually sort of a cohesive narrative to it."
10:13Unfortunately, Cryer unexpectedly had to cancel all performances. That sounds like a true
10:19actor's nightmare, doesn't it?
10:22John Cryer may not have made any on-screen appearances in 2022, but that also didn't
10:27mean he was absent from all TV productions. Instead, the actor was featured as the narrator
10:33for the Vice docuseries Devoured, which tells the story of true crimes associated with food.
10:39Cryer told Deadline,
10:40"...Just when I thought there couldn't be a genuinely new twist on true crime, I got
10:45Devoured. While I can only aspire to the greatness of, say, Bill Curtis or Keith Morrison, it's
10:51an honor to lend my voice to this."
10:54Morgan Hurston, in executive advice, seemed just as pleased to have the actor involved,
11:00saying,
11:01"...Having as immense a talent as John Cryer narrate Devoured is really exciting for us."
11:07On top of John Cryer's side projects over the last few years, the actor has also dedicated
11:12his time and resources to the altruistic goal of helping fight homelessness.
11:1769,000 people face homelessness in Los Angeles County, and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass declared
11:23the ongoing, decades-long crisis a state of emergency in January 2023. Cryer's response
11:29has been to help supply tiny homes for individuals who are struggling with homelessness in the
11:34Los Angeles area. Tiny houses are a trend to help house homeless people, providing them
11:39with amenities such as showers, laundry units, and electrical outlets.
11:44Cryer told ET,
11:46"...This is a way to give them a real home, a real place with privacy, and a place where
11:51they can feel like a human being again for an amount of money that isn't going to crush
11:55people."
11:56Cryer told ET,
11:57"...This is a way to give them a real home, a real place with privacy, and a place where
11:58they can feel like a human being again for an amount of money that isn't going to crush
11:59people."
12:00Cryer told ET,
12:01"...This is a way to give them a real home, a real place with privacy, and a place where
12:02they can feel like a human being again for an amount of money that isn't going to crush
12:03people."
12:04Cryer told ET,
12:05"...This is a way to give them a real home, a real place with privacy, and a place where
12:06they can feel like a human being again for an amount of money that isn't going to crush
12:07people."
12:08Cryer told ET,
12:09"...This is a way to give them a real home, a real place with privacy, and a place where
12:10they can feel like a human being again for an amount of money that isn't going to