Holland Taylor has explained that her decision to stop working under contract on Two and a Half Men was her own, after she said the sitcom had not paid her well despite four Emmy nominations.
The actress played Evelyn Harper, the mother of Charlie and Alan, throughout all 12 seasons of the series. She remained a main cast member until season nine before appearing in a recurring role during the final three seasons.
Speaking on the Alchemy with Anthony Mason podcast, Taylor said she chose not to renew her contract after six years, although she remained willing to return for occasional guest appearances.
“I stopped being under contract,” she said. “So, in other words, they would say, ‘Can you do a guest appearance at the end of March?’ And I would say, ‘No, I cannot.’ And I only did it if I wanted to do it.”
Taylor said the decision was “absolutely” hers and was linked to her pay. She claimed she had been earning roughly what she had made on a series several years earlier and had not received a raise despite being nominated for four Emmy Awards for the role.
“They never paid me very well on that show,” she said. “I was paid on that show what I had made on a series like eight years before or something. And I got, you know, four Emmy nominations and they never gave me raise.”
Taylor said she told the production that she no longer wanted to remain under contract when the six-year period ended, but would return from time to time as a guest.
“I loved a lot about that show, but they were not full of courtesies,” she said. “I said, ‘I don’t want to be under contract anymore, but I will visit the show occasionally if it’s, if you want.’ I mean, I did play the boy’s mama.”
She added that the makers told her they could not afford to offer her more money, while she believed the situation was partly intended to avoid giving her a significant pay rise. Taylor said Jon Cryer had, in her words, “quadrupled his salary” when his contract ended.
Taylor received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010 for Two and a Half Men. She had already won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Practice in 1999.
