'Two and a Half Men' child star was once making $300,000 per episode. Then, he quit for the right reasons
The kid who reigned as the highest-paid child actor in Hollywood, disappeared back in 2012 to be never seen again. Angus T. Jones, who played Jake Harper in the hit CBS sitcom "Two-and-a-Hald Men" earned over $300,000 per episode at the peak of his career. He made his acting debut at the age of five and starred in a whopping 226 episodes of the show, before quitting acting altogether. While for years it was believed he chose education over acting, the star recently opened up about the true reason he quit.
A promising but unwanted career
Jones was born in October 1993 in Austin, Texas, and his career began at an early age when he landed a film role in 1999’s "Simpatico". He went on to star in several supporting roles in multiple roles. He landed his breakout role in 2003, as "Jake Harper" in "Two and a Half Men".
At the age of just 10 years, Jones appeared alongside stars Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen. He was loved by the fans of the show and his popularity skyrocketed over the season, and so did his salary. At the peak of his career, Jones reportedly made over $7 million in one season, a feat only surpassed by Millie Bobby Brown with "Stranger Things", as per Watch Mojo.
Despite his enormous success on the show, Jones took a step back in 2012, after joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He quit the show in 2013 and made his last cameo in the final episode of season 12.
He then attended the University of Colorado and moved away from the spotlight with a $20 million fortune, as per The Sun. However, Jones later shared that there was much more that went through his mind that led to his decision.
Felt like a "Hypocrite"
Speaking about his departure from the show with CBS affiliate KHOU, Jones expressed that he felt like a "hypocrite" for working in a show that mocked real-life problems.
"It was making light of topics in our world that are really problems for a lot of people," he said. He added that he wasn't OK with doing that but still kept at it.
In a clip posted on YouTube, Jones advised people to not watch the show calling it "filth". “If you watch Two and a Half Men, please stop watching,” he said.
This triggered massive backlash on social media with fans of the show outraging against Jones. The former actor then apologized and in an interview with US Weekly, he said that he had "the highest regard and respect for all of the wonderful people on Two and a Half Men" and he never intended to show disrespect to them.
Years later in 2023, Jones made a return to showbiz on his former co-star Charlie Sheen's Max show, "Bookie". There he reunited with several other co-stars and the creator of "Two and a Half Men", Chuck Lorre.
In an interview with Variety, Lorre called Jones a “terrific guy," and said he was doing great in life.
