Jon Cryer

Intro

Jon Cryer is an actor and filmmaker whose career connects stage comedy, teen films and long-running television. The Television Academy describes him as a native New Yorker and the son of actor David Cryer and writer-performer Gretchen Cryer. His stage work included Eugene Jerome in Brighton Beach Memoirs and David in Torch Song Trilogy. Film audiences encountered him opposite Demi Moore in No Small Affair and as Duckie in Pretty in Pink. Alan Harper in Two and a Half Men later became an enduring television role, earning Emmy recognition in both supporting and lead comedy categories.

Career snapshot

Pretty in Pink places Duckie within the emotional and social pressures surrounding Molly Ringwald's Andie. Howard Deutch directed the 1986 film from John Hughes's screenplay. AFI's production history notes that Cryer was appearing in Brighton Beach Memoirs during the casting period, and that his approach helped win the role. The finished ensemble also includes Andrew McCarthy, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts and James Spader. Duckie's feelings matter partly because friendship does not automatically grant him the future he imagines. A useful rewatch follows his reactions when Andie's wishes differ from his own, alongside the more conspicuous comic flourishes.

The entry point

Two and a Half Men supplies a sustained comic partnership through Alan Harper and his family. CBS's announcement for the 2007 episode Mr. McGlue's Feedbag identifies Cryer as Alan, Charlie Sheen as Charlie, Angus T. Jones as Jake and Conchata Ferrell as Berta. Its split story sends Charlie and Jake to the track while Alan faces the Department of Motor Vehicles. Cryer directed that episode, his first directing assignment on the series. This provides a concrete introduction to his work on both sides of the camera: the performer negotiating Alan's frustrations was also responsible for staging the episode around him.

Screen identity and style

The Emmy record gives the role's recognition precise boundaries. Cryer won supporting actor in a comedy series in 2009 and lead actor in a comedy series in 2012, both for Alan Harper. That change in category is a useful reminder that a long-running character's place within a series can evolve. For viewing, compare how Alan behaves when asking for help with how he behaves when he briefly thinks he has an advantage. His reaction to another person's confidence can carry a joke before he supplies an answer. These are ways to examine the performance rather than claims about Cryer's personality away from the set.

Collaborations and patterns

Cryer also developed work as a writer and producer. CBS's 2009 biography credits him with co-writing, producing and starring in The Pompatus of Love and Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God...Be Back by Five. That account lists television leads in The Famous Teddy Z, Getting Personal, Partners and The Trouble with Normal, along with film appearances in Hot Shots!, Shorts and Weather Girl. The spread of credits prevents a single sitcom from becoming the whole story. It also suggests a useful distinction between joining another creator's ensemble and helping originate a project that gives its characters their world.

Era reflection

A later turn toward villainy brought him back to the Superman screen universe. DC's casting announcement links his Lenny Luthor in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace with Lex Luthor in Supergirl. It also identifies his voice work as Felix Faust in Justice League Action. DC's January 2019 preview places Lex's introduction in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, with the imprisoned character reaching out to his sister Lena, played by Katie McGrath. Compared with Alan's dependency, Lex's attempts to direct someone else's choices provide a different use of conversational control. The shared performer does not make the two characters interchangeable.

Legacy and rediscovery

The gallery moves from a 2003 premiere appearance to Cryer's September 2011 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. Amanda Ford photographed him attending the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere; this is not evidence that he appeared in that film. Angela George's ceremony images show both Cryer and the colleagues gathered around him. Begin a viewing route with Duckie, follow with Alan, and then compare Lex Luthor. Across those roles, notice what each character wants an audience within the scene to believe. The contrast makes a productive introduction to a career that includes earnestness, comic discomfort and deliberate manipulation.

Selected screen roles

• Pretty in Pink: Duckie — 1986
• Two and a Half Men: Alan Harper; episode director — Television
• Supergirl: Lex Luthor — Television
• Superman IV: The Quest for Peace: Lenny Luthor — 1987

A career in pictures

Premiere attendance and a Walk of Fame ceremony, including the Two and a Half Men ensemble; these are public-event photographs rather than character stills. Select an image for a larger view.

Premiere attendance (2003)

Jon Cryer at Disneyland

Attending the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere; not an acting credit in that film.

Hollywood Walk of Fame (2011)

Jon Cryer at his star ceremony

Photograph by Angela George.

Two and a Half Men colleagues (2011)

Cast and creators at Cryer's ceremony

Chuck Lorre, Marin Hinkle, Conchata Ferrell, Ashton Kutcher, Lee Aronsohn, Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones and Holland Taylor.

Rewatch notes

• Cryer won Emmys for Alan Harper in supporting comedy actor in 2009 and lead comedy actor in 2012.
• He directed the 2007 Two and a Half Men episode Mr. McGlue's Feedbag.
• He played Lenny Luthor in Superman IV before playing Lex Luthor in Supergirl.
• The gallery premiere photograph documents attendance, not a Pirates of the Caribbean acting credit.