Why You Rarely Hear From Jon Cryer Anymore

Even though Jon Cryer is not a massive star, he is certainly a Hollywood veteran with a few standout roles under his belt. After his noteworthy appearances in the popular TV shows "Two and a Half Men" and "Supergirl" along with the film that sparked his career, "Pretty in Pink," the talented actor has been the subject of a respectable amount of media coverage over the decades.

Yet with all that said, Cryer has not been the focus of major broadcast stories recently for good reason. Aside from playing the DC villain Lex Luthor on TV, he has, for the most part, followed several other pursuits outside of acting — most of which must be a pleasure for him as they involve personal passions, collaborations with loved ones, and giving back to those facing adversity. So Cryer's relative silence in the news these days has little to nothing to do with struggles or anything of that sort and is more about him taking a short break from that aspect of his celebrity life. Listed below are the activities of a man who has proven himself to excel in his profession and is now eager to try new things.

Jon Cryer burst onto the scene with large film roles early in his career, but he is now known best for playing Alan in the hit sitcom "Two and a Half Men." The long-running comedy series was on air for an impressive 12 seasons before it ended in 2015, and the part led to his two greatest accolades: Emmy Awards, one for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009 and another as Lead Actor in 2012.

But even years before the show's finale, there were major controversies that dragged the production down, the most notorious of which was the chaotic departure of Cryer's co-star, Charlie Sheen, in 2011. Executives at Warner Bros. Television fired the actor, who was currently awash in scandal, for too many missed rehearsals, forgetting lines, and for simply making the set a toxic work environment, as reported by Reuters. The negative press surrounding the series then continued with the less well-known, yet still quite damaging remarks of actor Angus Jones, who called it "filth" and begged viewers to stop tuning in (via YouTube).

The show lived on for a few more seasons after the exits of the two main actors, and Ashton Kutcher was brought on to replace Sheen. However, after a brief ratings boost, the Cryer and Kutcher combo was unable to bring the sitcom back to its former glory, as the ratings dropped significantly in the last few seasons, per Business Insider.

In 2011, Jon Cryer stepped up to become the lead star of "Two and a Half Men," and in that same year, he also accepted the lead role in the animated film "Planes." At the time, the actor seemed ecstatic about the news, as he told ET, "To be a part of a Disney movie is a blast because every person has that connection with Disney movies that they had as a kid. ... To be a part of that is pretty amazing." He also added, "Being a part of a Disney movie is something I have always wanted to do. ... When this opportunity presented itself, I just jumped on board."

Then, only a few months before the scheduled release of the movie in summer 2013, the studio mysteriously posted a trailer, but then quickly removed it before announcing that Dane Cook had replaced Cryer. No explanation for the switch was given, however, director Klay Hall emphasized in a press release that the comedian would give the main character, Dusty, both a quick wit and an edge (via Cinemablend). According to Rotten Tomatoes, the feature-length cartoon failed to impress both critics and audiences, so his exit from the project may have been good for his career overall. But the film did get a sequel, which Cook returned for, and starring in a Disney film still certainly would have increased Cryer's publicity, whether in a positive or negative sense.

Jon Cryer had a little bit of a lull at the beginning of his career without appearing in many major films or shows. There were several major roles early on that Cryer auditioned for but didn't get. Cryer auditioned for the lead role in "Back to the Future" but was rejected in favor of Michael J. Fox — Ben Stiller and Billy Zane were rejected as well (per Yahoo Entertainment). He was also asked to audition for the role of Mr. Pink in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs," but the actor declined because he did not fully understand the script. He later realized his mistake and said with sorrow, on "The Howard Stern Show," "I just had to beg off and not audition for what ended up being a brilliant movie."

He also auditioned for the part of Chandler in "Friends," but he's since said that he loves Matthew Perry's performance on the show. Cryer told Howard Stern he would have been "decent" as Chandler, but not "at the level of Matthew Perry." He continued, saying, "When you audition for something and don't get it, it's only when you see somebody do it not well that you get mad. I don't get mad. When I see an actor hit it out of the park, it's like, 'Well, of course, no wonder they gave it to that guy.'"

Just as Jon Cryer's time as Alan Harper was coming to a close with the end of "Two and a Half Men," the actor completed his memoir, "So That Happened." Released in 2015, the book tells the story of working in Hollywood from his perspective, along with the important relationships he has formed with other stars in the industry, such as Charlie Sheen, Demi Moore, John Hughes, Molly Ringwald, and Judd Nelson.

As Cryer explained on "Good Morning America," it was his manager and agent that approached him with the idea to tell his tale, which the actor reluctantly agreed to only after the duo secured a book deal for him. Of particular note in the book is his discussion of Sheen's on-set and personal problems, which led to the actor's being fired from "Two and a Half Men." Cryer said that he'd reached out to Sheen about writing the book and that his old co-star was supportive of him.

Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, Jon Cryer became vocal about his opposition to Donald Trump. In an episode of "The Real," Cryer said, "I worked with a guy who also, whenever he said whatever came to the top of his head, people loved it," referring to his embattled former co-star Charlie Sheen. "And people loved it even more when he said horrible things." He connected this "foolishness" to Trump's candor. "I don't want people to pick the president based on entertainment value," he said.

After four years of Trump's presidency, the actor's outspokenness only increased and led to a Twitter feud with Representative Matt Gaetz in 2020 for his staunch support of the GOP leader. A month later, Cryer was so disgusted with the actions of the president that he posted the Tweet, "I'm a registered independent voter. I've voted for and supported both Republicans and Democrats in the past. But the GOP's conversion to the cult of Trump has made it clear... I will never vote for another Republican ever again. Period."

Jon Cryer may not have made any on-screen appearances in 2022, but that also did not mean he was absent from all TV productions. Instead, the actor was featured as the narrator for the Vice docuseries, "Devoured," which combines interesting details about food with a major fascination of the actor: Cryer told Deadline, "Just when I thought there couldn't be a genuinely new twist on true crime, I got 'Devoured.' ... While I can only aspire to the greatness of, say, Bill Kurtis or Keith Morrison, it's an honor to lend my voice to this."

Morgan Hertzan, an executive at Vice, seemed just as pleased to have the actor involved, saying, "Having as immense a talent as Jon Cryer narrate ['Devoured'] is really exciting for us." The six-part series covers all sorts of disturbing criminal activity, from an ice cream company attempting to cover up a listeria outbreak in 2015 to the more historically rooted tales about the mafia.