The 2011 role Hugh Grant turned down a “stratospheric” amount of money to play

Hugh Grant declined the chance to replace Charlie Sheen on the US sitcom *Two and a Half Men* in 2011, despite being offered a reported $750,000 per episode. The role would have taken him into television comedy as the show sought to continue after Sheen’s dismissal, but Grant wanted a complete script and a more developed character before committing.

Creator Chuck Lorre said he and co-creator Lee Aronsohn had met Grant and written sample scenes for a character tailored to him. Grant later described the pay as “stratospheric” and said he had not realised how much US television paid; Lorre recalled that Grant withdrew when it was time to sign, with his representative delivering the news. Ashton Kutcher eventually joined the series as Walden Schmidt for its final four seasons.