Ashton Kutcher On 'Two And A Half Men': 'You Almost Think I Won The Lotto'

Charlie Sheen's loss was Ashton Kutcher's gain -- and the new face of CBS knows it.

Kutcher, who was revealed as Sheen's replacement on the mega-hit comedy "Two and a Half Men" last week, took center stage at CBS' upfront presentation of the fall lineup. Aside from a few press statements and tweets, this was his first opportunity to comment on his casting, and he hemmed once again to the aww-shucks excitement that he's projected over the past seven days.

"In my 13 years in show business, I've never received more emails and phone calls from people congratulating me for this job. You almost think I've won the lotto ... which I kind of did," he said (via EW). "I got the best job in show business and I'm exited about that."

The lottery reference could have been about his big salary, rumored to be a bit less than $900,000 per episode. In comparison, Sheen made nearly $2 million per taping.

Last Friday, Kutcher released a statement through CBS, saying, "I can't wait to get to work with this ridiculously talented 2.5 team and I believe we can fill the stage with laughter that will echo in viewers' homes. I can't replace Charlie Sheen but I'm going to work my ass off to entertain the hell out of people!"

For more on the CBS upfront presentation, click over to The Hollywood Reporter.

WATCH:

Ashton Kutcher Talks About Two and a Half Men

Comments

[SierraNevadaOnTap]

07:49 AM on 05/20/2011

HP -- good grief, check your spelling before you post articles. Just like a resume, it is hard to take you serious when there are errors. Exited should be excited.

[planetmondo]

07:00 AM on 05/20/2011

Perhaps Ashton could hook up with Evelyn
Since Charlie played himself ,Ashton could do the same .Art imitates life!

[planetmondo]

06:15 AM on 05/20/2011

Im a fan of Charlie but the last episodes he looked cooked,pale and fried.
Still Bruce Willis would have been better than Ashton.One Jake is enough on that show.
A possible scenario would have been Charlie is confronted by Karma and made into the female version of himself played by someone like Jenny McCarthy or Whitney Cummings.
Jake and Allen are the two and the re-incarnated Charlie would be the half-man.
this would allow that great cast to stay together.

[ed5446]

01:24 AM on 05/20/2011

its amazing people get paid to make and participate in the results of these decisions, if there's any poetic justice left, the first bombed episode will be the end of a.clown's 'career'

[April22]

10:48 PM on 05/19/2011

I still watch "Two And A Half Men" reruns.

I will not be watching Ashton Kutcher. I don't think he can carry that show. Never thought he was a good actor, either.

[erikqj]

08:20 PM on 05/19/2011

This is ludicrous. Sheen was the entire show. Take him away, and it's as dead as a cremated dodo. Paying Kutcher $900,000 per episode is worse than burning the money. To have a stab at prescience: After the first episodes bomb out, I'll say it's a toss-up whether the rest will be shown at all, or just tossed in the garbage. Reruns of Sheen episodes will get better ratings, rendering Kutcher a waste of bandwidth.

[KIVPossum]

09:41 PM on 05/19/2011

No, Sheen was a major part of the show. But over time they've developed Bertha and Jake quite well.

[erikqj]

02:57 AM on 05/20/2011

They're typical supporting characters. They can't carry any more of the weight, without some serious reinventing. It would require a new show.

Mainly, though: This show is poorly conceived, poorly written, poorly produced, and poorly directed. By all rights it should really, really suck. Some people here have expressed amazement at the show even surviving beyond the first season, some have been puzzled by the fact that they themselves laugh at it's lousy jokes. Well, the explanation is Sheen. He sets up everyone else, times his own lines perfectly, and responds perfectly to the other characters, saving the godawful script and production from ruining the show.

With Sheen gone, this show is a dodo just waiting to self-combust like an impaled vampire.

[JohnnyAce Okeke]

07:54 PM on 05/19/2011

Put your personal opinions about Charlie Sheen aside. Does anyone familiar with this series REALLY think Ashton would be a good replacement in respect to the show's current formula and demographic?

If you don't care for the show, just say so. If you just want to see Ashton, just say so. But don't really pretend that this is a good idea in any way, especially for a network with very few good shows. {{-_-}}

[ummm]

06:53 PM on 05/19/2011

$900,000 a week might just be the best job in show business- no monologue, no stunts, only 22 minutes, an ensemble cast and a built-in audience likely rooting for him (not like his film career was taking off)

[jackdaniel58]

05:41 PM on 05/19/2011

Over-confident-- Self-important and No Talent. A Hollywood Star.

[Chase Dagger]

04:53 PM on 05/19/2011

This show was never that good, same cheesy routine each week. I find it uncanny that it was so popular.
This latest move doesn't make any sense to me either; I just don't see how Ashton makes sense for that role, he's much younger.

[Simplecomplexity]

02:55 PM on 05/19/2011

I'm always amazed at how little good will there is on these comment boards.

I thought 2.5 men was hilarious and could never understand how they got away with what they did, but I always laughed. I wish Charlie good health...eventually I hope, and Ashton great luck.

[HeartT]

08:54 PM on 05/19/2011

I agree. I'm not a fan, but watched to see what all the brouhaha was about. I laughed. And frankly, I think the kid and the mother are funny ones. In any case, I wish Charlie well and Ashton too.

[Hypocrites are Watching]

02:34 PM on 05/19/2011

We want Bruce (dont call me ash)Campbell !!!

[KDMac]

01:13 PM on 05/19/2011

Just watched the last episode before the blowup -- Charlie looked ROUGH.

[gtx281]

05:24 PM on 05/19/2011

I said the same thing when it first aired. Killing off his character wouldn't even be a stretch.

[EndTheGOP]

01:11 PM on 05/19/2011

Maybe they could get a package deal for Ashton and his mom, er I mean Demi.

[Cye]

11:29 PM on 05/19/2011

Oh, because he's dating an older woman! Yeah, now I get it. Hilarious.

[ethiopia1a]

01:01 PM on 05/19/2011

How fitting. One talentless actor to replace another. :)