HBO’s new comedy Bookie was already a bit of a Two and a Half Men reunion, but it caught fans off guard with a surprise cameo by Angus T. Jones last week. Bookie is co-created by Chuck Lorre, the creator of Two and a Half Men which starred Jones and Charlie Sheen before both of them left the show on seemingly bad terms. Lorre spoke to Entertainment Tonight about what it took to get these two back on screen together.
Sheen’s exit from Two and a Half Men is infamous in the TV world – in the midst of a mental health crisis, a serious drug problem and several failed attempts at rehabilitation, Sheen publicly made anti-semitic comments about Lorre, leading to his dismissal from the show at the height of its popularity. Jones was was just 10 years old when he was cast on the show and 17 when Sheen left the series. Jones remained for one more season after Sheen left, then left the role at 18 years old, saying that it conflicted with his evolving religious views. Lorre seems to have mended fences with Sheen to work on Bookie, which had a two-episode premiere last week, including a brief cameo by Jones.
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Lorre said that this cameo does not necessarily mean Jones will be back to acting full time. He said: “He was not necessarily going, ‘Oh boy. I’m going to act again!’ But he was game and he was great. He was great at eight and he was great at 28.” Lorre noted that in the pilot episode of Two and a Half Men, Charlie taught Jake (Jones) how to play poker, while in Bookie, the two reunited at a poker table.
“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,” he said, “and the other guys at the table were in the pilot of Two and a Half Men as well. It was an extraordinary day.”
When asked if Jones was making an overall comeback to acting, Lorre said: “Conversations with Angus would lead me to say no, he’s done. He has other goals in mind.” Still, he said that Jones could easily jump back into the industry because of his talent and “instinct” for acting. He said: “He is one of those few people you meet who, their instincts at the age of eight were uncannily correct. It was in his DNA, you know? And it was there when we did that scene.”
As for Sheen, Lorre said that he hoped working together again would give both of them some closure on their highly-publicized feud of the past decade. He said: “The first time I saw him [was] before the table read for the first episode, which is nerve-wracking to begin with. It was just the most natural thing in the world. The two of us hugged… It was closure. It was healing. And it was a big weight off my heart.”
“And I don’t want to speak for Charlie, but I think he felt the same thing,” Lorre added. “It was a great opportunity for us to bury that darkness, and have fun.”
Bookie is airing two episodes per week every Thursday through Dec. 21 on HBO. It is also available to stream on Max.
