Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre appear to be back on the same page during, Bookie.
Charlie Sheen has been acting since the mid-80s. Throughout his career, he starred in films such as Wall Street (1987), The Rookie (1990), and The Three Musketeers (1993). He then went on to make his small-screen debut by replacing Michael J. Fox for the last two seasons of the ABC sitcom Spin City.
However, Sheen’s net worth didn’t skyrocket until he was cast in the lead role of the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men in 2003. During his eight seasons on this hit show, Sheen made millions. In fact, he was making about $1.8 million per episode during his final season.
Unfortunately, it all came to a halt when Sheen was fired from Two and a Half Men in 2011, after making a series of controversial statements about the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre.
Ultimately, Sheen filed a lawsuit against Lorre and Warner Bros. Television for $100, which ultimately settled for an undisclosed sum. All of this led to a major fall-out between Sheen and Lorre. It would seem that the two are on good terms now, given that the actor made a came on Lorre’s new comedy series, How to Become a Bookie. However, Sheen only agreed to appear on the show if the co-creator accepted changing his storyline.
Charlie Sheen Accepted To Appear on Chuck Lorre’s New Show, Bookie, Under One Condition
Charlie Sheen made a major comeback this year by making a significant cameo on Chuck Lorre’s new comedy series, Bookie. The sitcom, headlined by Sebastian Maniscalco, follows a veteran bookie as he struggles to survive the legalization of sports gambling. Sheen appears as himself in the first episode of the series, which is a major step toward making amends with Lorre after their major fallout almost twelve years ago.
As it turns out, Lorre and Sheen hadn’t spoken for “at least a decade.” But Bookie co-creator Nick Bakay wanted Sheen to appear as himself in the pilot for the series.
“Nick said to me, ‘Can you do it?’ But the emotion and angst for me were gone, I could even watch old episodes of Two and a Half Men and laugh,” Lorre told USA Today. “All that darkness wasn’t in my space anymore. So I told Nick, ‘Let’s see if he’ll do it.’” Fortunately for them, Sheen accepted.
However, Sheen had some strict conditions to appear on Bookie. Initially, Sheen was meant to play a version of himself who was addicted to gambling and was still in rehab. But the actor didn’t like this, “He was kind of like, ‘Can we not do the drug-addled Charlie anymore?’”
Lorre told Variety, explaining that he agreed to make a tweak. Ultimately, in the first episode of Bookie, Sheen is seen running a poker game at rehab, but it’s in a room that he has rented out for the occasion.
“It’s a rehab that he knows, but he’s not there to dry out from drugs and alcohol — he’s just running a poker game,” Lorre furthered explained. “And that solved that. I wasn’t seeking to do damage to the man. I wanted to hopefully take people’s perceptions and make it comedic, not dark.” Sheen did such a great job that Lorre offered him a regular role in the series.
Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen Worked Together To Bring Angus T. Jones Out of Retirement
The first episode of How to Be a Bookie included a mini Two and a Half Men reunion. In addition to Charlie Sheen, the episode also featured Angus T. Jones, who played Sheen’s nephew on the show. This was a huge surprise for Two and a Half Men fans, given that Jones disappeared from the spotlight after the series came to an end. However, both Sheen and Lorre managed to bring him out of retirement.
"He was not necessarily going, 'Oh boy. I'm going to act again!'" Lorre told Entertainment Tonight of Jones’ disappearance from Hollywood. "But he was game and he was great. He was great at eight and he was great at 28."
In his Bookie cameo, Jones portrays one of the players in Sheen's poker game. This was a fun nod to the pilot of Two and a Half Men, where Jake is seen playing poker with Charlie and his friends.
"Almost 20 years to the day after we shot the pilot of Two and a Half Men, we shot that scene with the two guys playing poker," Lorre revealed, "and the other guys at the table were in the pilot of Two and a Half Men as well."
Lorre admitted that reuniting with both actors was a great experience. However, the producer explained that he doubts that Jones will be returning to acting any time in the foreseeable future. "Conversations with Angus would lead me to say no, he's done," he explained. "He has other goals in mind."
Chuck Lorre Praised Charlie Sheen’s Work In Bookie
Chuck Lorre admitted that making amends with Charlie Sheen was great. “I was nervous, but almost as soon as we started talking, I remembered, we were friends once,” Lorre told Variety. “And that friendship just suddenly seemed to be there again. I don’t want to be too mawkish about it, but it was healing. [...] When he came to the table read of that episode, I walked up, and we hugged. It was just great.”
Moreover, the producer and writer said that Sheen did an incredible job.
“He proceeded to kill it at the table read. His chops were just so finely tuned, as if we had not missed a beat,” Lorre said, praising the actor for his ability to make fun of himself, as the script didn’t pull any punches.
“That really falls on Charlie being a really good sport,” Lorre added. “He’s playing a version of himself that has shadows of past problems and he was fine with it.”