Melanie Lynskey left Two and a Half Men because according to her the sitcom was not what she wanted to continue to do as it took the majority of her time and left no room for other projects. Adding to this, the makers were paying her pretty low even after being a main cast member of the show.
Two and a Half Men was one of the top-performing sitcoms of its time. The show was released back on September 22, 2003, and ran for 12 seasons. Created by Chuck Lorre, the show revolved around Charlie Harper, Alan, and Alan's mischievous son, Jake. The series originally starred Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones and since it's a season, the show began gaining its fan following across the world. Each cast member in the series played a crucial role in the show and its story.
Out of all of them was Melanie Lynskey's character, Rose. Rose was known to be Charlie Harper's stalker as well as his lover. Lynskey played the main character in the show and was a part of the show for 63 episodes. After which she chooses to exit.
Was Melanie Lynskey not paid well in Two and A Half Men?
According to thethings.com, during an interview, Lynskey explained how she started her journey as Rose on Two and a Half Men. Lynskey said, "I went out for every single pilot. I got cast as a guest star on Two and a Half Men and I just thought, 'Do a sitcom — that seems like fun.' When the show got picked up, they asked me to be a regular; that was a harder decision. But everyone around me was like, 'Wow, this is great, congratulations.' So I decided to try it on."
As she continued, Lynskey claimed that even though it was nice working on the show, it didn't help her make a fortune as expected. At the time, the show was no less than a blockbuster.
"Also it was nice to be getting a paycheck. It wasn't huge; it was literally the least they could possibly pay me, according to SAG," Lynskey said.
The real reason Melanie Lynskey left Two and a Half Men
Melanie Lynskey finally opened up on why she left Two and a Half Men at the peak of the show's success. She revealed that she didn't feel it was her calling and how the show took away most of her time, leaving her unable to take up other projects. During the interview, the actress said, "I did one season, and I thought, 'Oh, this is not for me.' It felt very hard knowing that most of my year was gonna be this."
"The show was a huge hit, and he just said, 'Please don't. You have this storyline and that storyline coming up next season.' He really felt excited. Then the next season happened — all of the storylines happened in one episode!" she added. Melanie Lynskey concluded her explanation by saying, "They really tried to talk me out of it. Finally, we came to an agreement where I could come and go. A couple of people were like, 'You could be a millionaire.' I get it. We're going into the third season, and that's the time you can ask for a raise. But it didn't matter."
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