September 19, 2011
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Perenially troubled actor Charlie Sheen held out an olive branch Sunday to his former bosses on hit TV show "Two and a Half Men" -- and even cuddled up with his replacement, Ashton Kutcher.
Sheen, who was sacked from the show in March after criticizing its producer and then went on a months-long public meltdown, has appeared chastened in chat-show appearances in the last week, as his new TV show airs this week.
"I want to take a moment to get something off my chest and say a few words to everybody here from 'Two and a Half Men,'" Sheen said, before announcing the winner of the best actor Emmy, or what he called "my old category."
"From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season. We spent eight wonderful years together and I know you will continue to make great television," he said.
Kutcher, who joined the show in May, drew laughter when he came on later in the show to present another category's winner, deadpanning: "I am not Charlie Sheen."
There was no on-stage reconciliation, but after the show Sheen tweeted a picture of himself and Kutscher together, with the tweet: "Giving the new kid a little advice..!".
A later tweet, using Kutcher's Twitter name @aplusk, added: "Seriously... @aplusk great talking to you! We'll all be watching! Make us proud!!"
Sheen, who earned $2 million a show for his role as a hedonistic bachelor, was fired from "Two and a Half Men" for slamming its producer Chuck Lorre in outbursts described by his bosses as part of a "self-inflicted disintegration."
"Two and a Half Men" has been a hit since it was launched in 2003 and has been nominated for numerous awards, including nods for Sheen at the Emmys and Golden Globes.
Sheen's new show is due to screen Monday evening, at almost exactly the same time as the return of "Two and a Half Men" on CBS with Kutcher in the lead.
The actor's Emmys olive branch came after he has sounded contrite in a number of TV appearances ahead of the first airing Monday of his new show, Comedy Central's "Roast of Charlie Sheen."
"I would have fired my ass, too," Sheen told Jay Leno on the Tonight Show last week, adding: "I might have overshot the mark a little bit. But these were just metaphors.
"I didn’t really believe I had tiger blood or Adonis DNA," he said, referring to things he said during several months of erratic TV and other media appearances, which drew him a cult following online.
"These were just jokes," he said.
