After spending twelve seasons on the often-controversial sitcom Two and a Half Men, one would think that star Jon Cryer might want to do everything he could to avoid doing another comedic television series. However, in an interview with Vulture Cryer points out that while he has aspirations to do other types of roles, he explains why he finds it difficult to be cast in other types of projects.
Based on the success of Two and a Half Men, Cryer expects that his upcoming projects will be largely in the same vein. He says, “I’ll probably do more television, or just wait for something great to come along. I’d be happy to do another comedy, but I’d love to do a drama.” He adds that he did receive a tempting dramatic role, but he unfortunately had to turn it down. “Literally the week after the show was done, I got a call; Law and Order: SVU wanted me to be a serial killer. It turns out the showrunner — this is weird — used to be my babysitter. We grew up in the same building on the Upper West Side, and he used to be my babysitter. And I turned it down because there [were] some scheduling problems, and I felt terrible about it because I’m turning down my old babysitter!”
When asked why he thinks he’s almost always tapped for comedic roles, Cryer responds, “Partially because I’ve always felt I was kind of a ridiculous human being. So when I get super dramatic, the urge to giggle nearly overtakes me. It’s the reason I think I haven’t been cast in science fiction, because the second you see me, you say, ‘Okay, I don’t buy this.’ I actually ran into J.J. Abrams at the Emmys a few years ago, as he was about to shoot the first Star Trek movie, and I said, ‘I have to be in the movie in some respect. I just want to die entertainingly.’ When the ship gets hit by a photon torpedo, I can just be the guy across camera going, ‘AAAAHH!’ or whose console explodes. But he was not up for it; he said it would be distracting. It’s because I’m so inherently ridiculous that the second you see me going across the screen, you start laughing.“
