With twelve seasons in as many years, ‘Two And A Half Men’ is one of the longest-running sitcoms ever, and although both its quality and success suffered a noticeable decline with Charlie Sheen’s departure (and Ashton Kutcher’s takeover), the series is still unites countless fans behind him. But it was not only the scandalous ex-protagonist who left the show under rather unpleasant circumstances, but also with Melanie Lynskey also an actress. Unlike the fired Charlie Sheen, she couldn’t wait to leave…
For five seasons, the star of “The Last Of Us” played the role of Rose, who alternates between stalker and lover of Charlie Harper (Sheen). But as Lynskey said in an interview with revealed, her time on ‘Two And A Half Men’ wasn’t nearly as fun as it seemed to viewers.
Melanie Lynskey received a minimal salary for Two And A Half Men
Shortly after joining the show, the 46-year-old discovered she was being paid anything but fairly. According to SAG (Screen Actors Guild), she even received the lowest possible compensation for her engagement – unlike her male co-stars.
Furthermore, unlike the agency representing her at the time, Lynskey quickly realized that Rose’s role was not actually suited to her and her abilities. So she played a character she didn’t like, for a bare minimum salary. Unsurprisingly, the actress quickly expressed her desire to leave the sitcom, but the overwhelming success of Two And A Half Men thwarted her plans…
“You tried to talk me out of it.”
In order for Lynskey to stay in the second season, she was promised a number of storylines specifically for her character. The producers kept this promise, but Lynskey found that all the storylines were covered in one episode.
Lynskey then did everything she could to negotiate a new contract that would allow her to look for other roles. “At that time I saw ‘Brokeback Mountain,’” Lynskey said in the interview. “It’s not that I thought I could be in it, but I was like, ‘I didn’t audition for this. I’m not even discussing such films. I don’t do things I want to do.’ So I said I should be able to do other things. And they really tried to talk me out of it.”
After many delays and even more setbacks, she finally got a new contract that gave her the opportunity to leave the “Two and a Half Men” set if necessary, so she could focus on projects that were truly close to her heart. Rose’s role was then steadily reduced until she was only appearing in about one episode per season – and Lynskey eventually turned her back on the popular sitcom in 2015.
With this story in mind, you will definitely see some episodes of “Two And A Half Men” with different eyes. Although Melanie Lynskey had little to do with her role, her character was very popular with fans of the series.