Two and a Half Men star Holland Taylor reveals why she refused to renew her contract

CBS' Two and a Half Men premiered on September 22, 2003, and wrapped up on February 19, 2015. Created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, the series follows the Harper brothers, Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer), and Alan's son, Jake (Angus T. Jones).

Emmy-winning actor Holland Taylor played the role of Evelyn, the Harper brothers' overbearing mother, for twelve seasons from 2003 to 2015. However, in the latest episode of the Alchemy with Anthony Mason podcast, Taylor revealed the reason why she did not want to renew her contract after Season 6. Taylor said that she no longer wanted to be tied to the show by contract. She recalled how she was not paid 'very well' on the show.

Here's more about it.

Two and a Half Men: Holland Taylor refused to renew contract due to pay dispute

More than a decade has passed since CBS' hit sitcom Two and a Half Men wrapped up. Charlie Sheen, who played Charlie Harper in the sitcom, was one of the highest-paid actors on TV. According to Reuters, Sheen was paid a whopping $40 million between May 2010 and May 2011. However, Holland Taylor, a veteran actor who played Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half Men, ditched the contract. Taylor recalled that the paycheck was not as much as she would have liked.

In a podcast with Anthony Mason, Taylor said the pay disparity was the reason why she refused to renew her contract and opted to be a guest star instead. She recalled how she got four Emmy nominations for the role, but they never raised her pay, not even as a courtesy move.

Taylor said that her decision left the producers astonished. However, opting out of the contract was a good move for her career since she could star in other projects. Taylor said,

"In any case, when the six years was up, I said, ‘I don’t want to be on a contract anymore but I will visit the show occasionally if you want.’ I mean, I did play the boys’ mother.”

The veteran actor also said she did not ask the producers to increase her salary because the studio kept claiming it didn't have enough funds.

“I said, ‘You could actually pay me the cost of this building, but don’t bother because I don’t want to continue on under contract,’”

In reply to Taylor's statement, the studio said:

“ But we can’t afford to give you more."

In response, Taylor said she was ready to come back to the show but only as a guest.

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Two and a Half Men landed in major controversy due to a clash between Sheen and Chuck Lorre. Sheen was fired from the show in 2011. According to The Courier Mail, Sheen was paid $1 million per episode in the early seasons, and it was raised to $2 million per episode in the later seasons. Ashton Kutcher replaced Sheen and was paid $US700,000 per episode to play Walden Schmidt, a billionaire.

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