Jonathan Niven "Jon" Cryer is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and film
producer.
He is the son of Gretchen and David Cryer.
Cryer made his motion picture debut in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair, but
found greater fame in the 1986 John Hughes-written film Pretty in Pink.
In 1998, he wrote and produced the independent film Went to Coney Island on a Mission from
God...
Be Back by Five.
Although Cryer gained fame by starring in these films, it took several years to find
success on television.
The shows in which Cryer starred, such as The Famous Teddy Z, Partners, and The Trouble
With Normal, did not last long.
In 2003, Cryer was cast as Dr. Alan Harper on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, for
which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009 and 2012.
Cryer received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television in 2011.
Early life Cryer was born in New York City, New York.
His mother, Gretchen, is a playwright, songwriter, actress, and singer; his father, Donald David
Cryer, is an actor and singer who originally studied to be a minister.
Cryer's paternal grandfather, Rev. Dr. Donald W. Cryer, was a well-known Methodist minister.
He has two sisters, Robin and Shelly.
He also has a step-sister, Hannah Douglas-Cryer.
When Cryer was twelve years old, he decided that he wanted to become an actor.
When his mother heard this, she thought he should have a backup plan, and joked: "Plumbing
is a pretty good career."
Cryer attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center for several summers as
a teenager, and is a 1983 graduate of the Bronx High School of Science.
He was classmates with screenwriter and film director Boaz Yakin.
To his mother's "great disappointment", Cryer skipped college and went to study acting at
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, United Kingdom.
Career Cryer's first professional acting effort was
as David in the Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy, replacing Matthew Broderick, whom he "closely
resembled".
Cryer was later an understudy and replacement for Broderick in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach
Memoirs in 1989.
This resemblance to Broderick became something of a running joke, even referenced numerous
times on his hit series Two and a Half Men, where his character posed as Broderick in
order to get star treatment on various occasions.
At age 19, Cryer appeared in the 1984 romantic comedy film No Small Affair, in the lead role
as Charles Cummings, after the original production with Matthew Broderick was shut down due to
a heart attack by director, Martin Ritt.
He went on to have small roles in films and television movies, and he made his breakthrough
as Phil "Duckie" Dale in the John Hughes-scripted film Pretty in Pink.
In an interview with the Daily News, Cryer's mother said that after Pretty in Pink, she
started getting calls from teenage girls from all over the world, who would leave hysterical,
giggling messages on her answering machine.
In 1989, he got the lead role in the TV comedy series, The Famous Teddy Z.
His performance gained poor reviews and the show was canceled after the first season.
One year later, he starred with Charlie Sheen in the Jim Abrahams comedy Hot Shots!, which
was received very positively.
Cryer is frequently linked to the Brat Pack.
In a March 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Cryer stated that he had auditioned
for St. Elmo's Fire but was not cast in a role.
In 1993, he was asked to audition for the role of Chandler Bing on Friends, while doing
a play in London.
His reading was videotaped by a British casting agent but the tape failed to arrive in the
U.S. before the network had made its final decision.
In 1995, he was cast as Bob in the sitcom Partners, which, like his prior show The Famous
Teddy Z, was canceled after its first season.
In an interview with Time Out New York he stated, "Hey, every show I'm in goes down.
Think about this: George Clooney was in 28 pilots, or something.
It means nothing".
After guest starring on shows such as Dharma & Greg and The Outer Limits, he successfully
wrote and produced the film, Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God...
Be Back by Five.
It debuted in 1998 at the Los Angeles Film Festival and gained positive reviews from
critics.
Leonard Maltin from Playboy Magazine called it "A breath of fresh air".
In 2000, he was cast as the lead in a comedy series called The Trouble With Normal.
For the third time, Cryer starred in a show which was canceled after its first season.
Cryer's long run of unsuccessful TV projects finally ended three years later.
Against the wishes of CBS executives, he was cast in 2003 to portray Alan Harper on the
hit comedy series Two and a Half Men.
To date, he has earned seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations and two wins for his acting
work on the show.
In a comment on the show's high ratings, he said: "When you’re on a show that's fighting
for survival every week, you stop trusting your instincts, because you think, ‘My instincts
haven't worked so far.’
But when people clearly like the show and are watching it in great numbers, it takes
a huge amount of pressure off you.
It allows you to trust your instincts and go with what has worked for you before."
After former co-star Charlie Sheen's departure from the series, Cryer's character has since
become the show's central character, mainly due to the show's retooled plot.
Before being cast for Two and a Half Men, Cryer auditioned for the role of Gaius Baltar
on the Sci-Fi Channel's reimagined Battlestar Galactica, but the role went to James Callis.
In 2008, Cryer appeared with Laurence Fishburne and James Cromwell in the film Tortured, and
in 2009 co-starred with James Spader in the film Shorts.
Cryer made a guest appearance on the sitcom series Husbands in its second season.
He was initially cast to voice the lead character in the DisneyToon Studios animated film Planes,
a spin-off of Pixar's Cars franchise, but later dropped out and was replaced by Dane
Cook.
Cryer did however receive a credit on the film for "additional story material."
Personal life
Cryer married British actress Sarah Trigger in 1999, with whom he has a son, Charlie Austin.
The pair divorced in 2004.
In February 2007, on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he announced that he would
marry entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner; the couple married in Mexico in June 2007.
On September 29, 2009, Jon and Lisa announced that they adopted a baby girl, whom they named
Daisy.
During the 2008 presidential election campaign, Cryer attended a fundraiser hosted by the
McCain campaign and, according to most news reports, endorsed Senator John McCain.
Cryer's spokeswoman, Karen Sanfilippohis, stated: "Jon is not a Republican.
The mistake was made because in 2008 he attended events for both parties.
It seems the Republican Party was very quick to align him with their group of supporters.
He did attend events for both parties, because he wanted to hear what both sides had to say.
He's not really political."
Film Television
References
External links Jon Cryer Bio at CBS - Two and a Half Men
Jon Cryer at the Internet Movie Database Jon Cryer at the Internet Broadway Database
Jon Cryer at the Internet Off-Broadway Database Jon Cryer at AllMovie
Jon Cryer at Emmys.com