Hugh Grant Turned Down ‘Stratospheric’ Salary to Replace Charlie Sheen in ‘Two and a Half Men’ — Chuck Lorre Reveals How Much

Hugh Grant was approached to star in “Two and a Half Men.” The British actor was courted after previous star Charlie Sheen was fired by Chuck Lorre. The latter revealed in his memoir, “Sitcom,” how much Grant had been offered to accept the part. Grant, 66, ended up turning the opportunity down.

Lorre, 73, has provided close details of his work in his autobiography. The TV showrunner went into detail about his falling out with Sheen and how it shaped the remainder of “Two and a Half Men.”

Grant, for his part, has spoken of the offer before. The actor provided his reasons for turning down the “stratospheric” money. His version and Lorre’s differ based on both of their individual perspectives.

Chuck Lorre Offered Hugh Grant $750,000 To Replace Charlie Sheen In ‘Two And A Half Men’

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Chuck Lorre’s falling out with Charlie Sheen became ugly in 2011. The 61-year-old actor publicly blasted his former boss, who terminated Sheen’s role on the hit sitcom. Sheen was the star of the show for its first eight years.

The two have since reconciled, although the remainder of “Two and a Half Men” featured Ashton Kutcher in the lead.

Hugh Grant was Lorre’s original choice over Kutcher. Grant was 51 years old at the time, close to the then-46-year-old Sheen. Kutcher, 33 back then, played a completely different personality than what Sheen’s character had. Grant’s role would have presumably been similar to Sheen’s.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Lorre revealed Grant was offered $750,000 per episode to star in the show. The actor turned the opportunity down, which Lorre says he actually respects.

The 73-year-old feels that Grant likely didn’t want to turn into a sitcom actor compared to his status as a leading Hollywood star.

“I would have to guess that he decided that, for his career, it wasn’t a good play,” Lorre told PEOPLE. “The money was secondary to his needs and demands as an actor and as an artist.”

Chuck Lorre Says Hugh Grant Almost Signed The Contract

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Interestingly, the offer given to Hugh Grant was noticeably lower than what Charlie Sheen was earning. Before his dismissal, Sheen earned $1 million an episode, making him the highest-paid actor on TV. However, Lorre told PEOPLE that Grant was close to inking the deal.

According to the showrunner, he was informed that Grant had a pen in hand and was about to sign the offer. Grant’s primary concern was performing in front of a live studio audience. Lorre managed to remove this obstacle as well, assuring Grant that they would film without an in-person crowd and add a laugh track.

Ultimately, Lorre received a response from Grant’s team that the actor had walked out of the room just when he was about to sign. As a result, the deal broke down, and Lorre had to search for an alternate star. He would eventually approach Ashton Kutcher.

Hugh Grant Referred To The Money Offered As ‘Stratospheric’

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In a 2016 interview on “The Howard Stern Show,” Hugh Grant spoke about the “Two and a Half Men” offer. The actor reiterated that Chuck Lorre and the team would have likely created a completely different character for him than what Ashton Kutcher got. However, he was not convinced by the requirements.

“The problem was that they didn’t have a script or a new character. They just said, ‘trust us; we’ll create one,’ Grant told Howard Stern. “I said it’s very difficult; it’s very difficult for me to consider this without a script…Because I like that show…But I said I’m too scared to sign on without a script.

When Stern asked him if he had any regrets, Grant said he couldn’t judge since Kutcher got a different role than he would have. The actor did confirm that the “money was stratospheric.”

The actor admitted he didn’t realize how much money there was in American television until he met “The Big Bang Theory” star Simon Helberg.

“I might have been vaguely patronizing to him because he hadn’t done films before,” Grant admitted about his behavior toward Helberg when they filmed “Florence Foster Jenkins.” “Gradually, you realize, not only is the guy a much bigger star than me. He’s maybe the richest man I’ve ever met.”