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Jon Cryer

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For the British politician, see John Cryer.
Jon Cryer
JonCryerHWOFSept2011.jpg
Cryer at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on September 19, 2011
Born Jonathan Niven Cryer
(1965-04-16) April 16, 1965 (age 59)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation Actor, screenwriter, television director, producer
Years active 1984–present
Spouse(s) Sarah Trigger (1999–2004; 1 child)
Lisa Joyner (2007–present; 1 adopted child)
Parent(s) Gretchen Cryer
David Cryer

Jonathan Niven "Jon" Cryer (born April 16, 1965)[1] is an American actor, screenwriter, television director, and film producer. Born into a show business family, Cryer made his motion picture debut as a teenaged photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair; his breakout role came in 1986, playing "Duckie" Dale in the John Hughes-written film Pretty in Pink. In 1998, he wrote and produced the independent film Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five.

Although Cryer gained fame with his early film roles, it took several years to find success on television; none of his star vehicles, including The Famous Teddy Z, Partners, and The Trouble with Normal, lasted more than 22 episodes. In 2003, Cryer was cast as Alan Harper on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men, for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009 and 2012.[2][3] Cryer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television in 2011.

Cryer's other film appearances include Tortured (2008), Shorts (2009), and Hit by Lightning (2014). He also has a recurring role in the CBS drama series, NCIS, playing Dr. Cyril Taft.

Early life

Cryer was born in New York City, New York. His mother, Gretchen (née Kiger), is a playwright, songwriter, actress, and singer; his father, Donald David Cryer, is an actor and singer who originally studied to be a minister.[4][5][6] Cryer's paternal grandfather, Rev. Dr. Donald W. Cryer, was a well-known Methodist minister. He has two sisters, Robin and Shelly. He also has a step-sister, Hannah Douglas-Cryer.[7]

When Cryer was twelve years old, he decided that he wanted to become an actor.[8] When his mother heard this, she thought he should have a backup plan, and joked: "Plumbing is a pretty good career."[7] Cryer attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center for several summers as a teenager,[9] and is a 1983 graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. He was classmates with screenwriter and film director Boaz Yakin.[10] To his mother's "great disappointment", Cryer skipped college and went to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, United Kingdom.[11]

Career

Cryer's first professional acting effort was as David in the Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy, replacing Matthew Broderick, whom he "closely resembled".[12] Cryer was later an understudy and replacement for Broderick in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs in 1989.

Cryer at the Los Angeles premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in 2006

At age 19, Cryer appeared in the 1984 romantic comedy film No Small Affair, in the lead role as Charles Cummings, after the original production with Matthew Broderick was shut down due to a heart attack by director, Martin Ritt.[13] He went on to have small roles in films and television movies, and he made his breakthrough as Phil "Duckie" Dale in the John Hughes-scripted film Pretty in Pink.[14] In an interview with the Daily News, Cryer's mother said that after Pretty in Pink, she started getting calls from teenage girls from all over the world, who would leave hysterical, giggling messages on her answering machine.[7] In 1989, he got the lead role in the TV comedy series, The Famous Teddy Z. His performance gained poor reviews[15] and the show was canceled after the first season.[15]

A year later, he starred with Charlie Sheen in the Jim Abrahams comedy Hot Shots!,[8] which was received very positively.[16] Cryer is frequently linked to the Brat Pack.[17] In a March 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Cryer stated that he had auditioned for St. Elmo's Fire but was not cast in a role.[18] In 1993, he was asked to audition for the role of Chandler Bing on Friends, while doing a play in London. His reading was videotaped by a British casting agent but the tape failed to arrive in the U.S. before the network had made its final decision.[8]

In 1995, he was cast as Bob in the sitcom Partners, which, like his prior show The Famous Teddy Z, was canceled after its first season. In an interview with Time Out New York he stated, "Hey, every show I'm in goes down. Think about this: George Clooney was in 28 pilots, or something. It means nothing".[7] After guest starring on shows such as Dharma & Greg and The Outer Limits, he successfully wrote and produced the film, Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five. It debuted in 1998 at the Los Angeles Film Festival and gained positive reviews from critics.[19] Leonard Maltin from Playboy Magazine called it "A breath of fresh air".[20] In 2000, he was cast as the lead in a comedy series called The Trouble With Normal. For the third time, Cryer starred in a show which was canceled after its first season.[21]

Cryer's long run of unsuccessful TV projects finally ended three years later. Against the wishes of CBS executives (who were aware of his past failures) and due to a friendship with Charlie Sheen, he was cast in 2003 to portray Alan Harper on the hit comedy series Two and a Half Men. He has earned seven Primetime Emmy Award[22] nominations and two wins[2] for his acting work on the show.[3] In a comment on the show's high ratings, he said: "When you’re on a show that's fighting for survival every week, you stop trusting your instincts, because you think, ‘My instincts haven't worked so far.’ But when people clearly like the show and are watching it in great numbers, it takes a huge amount of pressure off you. It allows you to trust your instincts and go with what has worked for you before."[8] After former co-star Charlie Sheen's departure from the series, Cryer's character has since become the show's central character, mainly due to the show's retooled plot. At the end of the series of Two and a Half Men, Cryer is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the series, since Sheen was fired in March 2011 and his on-screen son Angus T. Jones left the series at the end of season 10, after expressing the show as "filth" and that Jones is a "paid hypocrite".[23] All appeared to be forgiven, however, as Jones, contrary to Charlie Sheen, appeared to great appause in the finale. Before being cast for Two and a Half Men, Cryer auditioned for the role of Gaius Baltar on the Sci-Fi Channel's reimagined Battlestar Galactica, but the role went to James Callis.[24] In 2008, Cryer appeared with Laurence Fishburne and James Cromwell in the film Tortured,[25] and in 2009 co-starred with James Spader in the film Shorts.[26]

Cryer made a guest appearance on the sitcom series Husbands in its second season.[27] He was initially cast to voice the lead character in the DisneyToon Studios animated film Planes, a spin-off of Pixar's Cars franchise,[28] but later dropped out and was replaced by Dane Cook.[29][30] Cryer did however receive a credit on the film for "additional story material."[31]

In 2015, Cryer released a book titled 'So That Happened', a breezy, often comic tale chronicling Cryer's 30-year career on stage, film and television.

Cryer currently appears in the highly popular CBS drama series, NCIS (TV series) where he currently plays Navy Dr. Cyril Taft who treats NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Cryer had expressed a desire to appear in NCIS since it premiered on September 23, 2003.

Personal life

Cryer with wife Lisa Joyner in September 2011

Cryer married British actress Sarah Trigger in 1999, with whom he has a son, Charlie Austin.[7] The pair divorced in 2004. In February 2007, on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he announced that he would marry entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner; the couple married in Mexico[7] in June 2007.[32][33] On September 29, 2009, Jon and Lisa announced that they adopted a baby girl, whom they named Daisy.[34][35]

When Pretty in Pink co-star Molly Ringwald told Out magazine in 2012 that she believed Cryer's character was gay, Cryer defended Duckie and other "slightly effeminate dorks," and said he has had to live with others' "faulty" gaydar.[36] Also in 2012, Joyner told Jeff Probst that when she and Cryer started dating, she wondered if he might be gay because "he never kissed me."[37] Cryer was asked in 2014 if he was "mistaken for gay"; he again called himself "an effeminate heterosexual dork" and cracked a joke about never being propositioned: "Fellas, you're dropping the ball."[38]

Prior to the 2008 presidential election, Cryer attended a fundraiser hosted by the McCain campaign and, according to news reports, endorsed Senator John McCain.[39][40] When Cryer did not make a public endorsement for the 2012 race, his spokeswoman said that the 2008 report aligning him with the Republican Party was a "mistake" and that Cryer is "not really political." He had attended events for both Republicans and Democrats "because he wanted to hear what both sides had to say."[41]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1984 No Small Affair Charles Cummings
1985 Noon Wine Teenage Herbert
1985 O.C. and Stiggs Randall Schwab Jr.
1986 Pretty in Pink Phil "Duckie" Dale
1987 Morgan Stewart's Coming Home Morgan Stewart
1987 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace Lenny Luthor
1987 Dudes Grant
1987 Hiding Out Andrew Morenski
Max Hauser
1988 Rap Master Ronnie: A Report Card
1989 Penn & Teller Get Killed Frat boy
1991 Hot Shots! Jim "Wash Out" Pfaffenbach
1993 The Waiter Tommy Kazdan
1993 Heads Guy Franklin
1996 The Pompatus of Love Mark Writer
1996 Cannes Man Himself
1997 Plan B Stuart Winer
1998 Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five Daniel Writer and producer
1998 Holy Man Barry
2000 Clayton
2001 Glam Jimmy Pells
2003 The Metro Chase Mr. Stamm
2008 Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby Richard Pig Voice
2008 Tortured Brian
2009 Weather Girl Charles
2009 Shorts Dad Thompson
2009 Stay Cool Javier
2010 Due Date Alan Harper Cameo
2013 Ass Backwards Dean Morris
2014 Hit by Lightning Ricky Miller

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Amazing Stories Phil Episode: "Miscalculation"
1989–90 The Famous Teddy Z Teddy Zakalokis
1995–96 Partners Bob Producer
1996 The Outer Limits Trevor McPhee Episode: "Vanishing Act"
1997 It's Good to Be King Mort
1997 Dharma & Greg Brian Episode: "Shower the People You Love with Love"
1998 Getting Personal Sam Wagner Producer
Episode: "Sam I Am"
1998 Hercules: The Animated Series The Winged Wolves Voice
Episode: "Hercules and the Underworld Takeover"
1998 Mr. Show with Bob & David Duckie Episode: "It's Perfectly Understandishable"
1998 Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Justin Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and a Thanksgiving"
2000 Family Guy Kevin Swanson Voice
Episode: "A Hero Sits Next Door"
2000–01 The Trouble With Normal Zack Mango
2002 Andy Richter Controls the Universe Lemuel Praeger Episode: "Gimme a C"
2002 The Practice Terry Pender Episode: "Of Thee I Sing"
2003 Becker Roger Episode: "Chris' Ex"
2003 Hey Joel Joel Stein Voice
2003 Stripperella Voice
2003–15 Two and a Half Men Alan Harper 262 episodes; (Season 1-12)
Lead role; Directed three episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2009)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (2012)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (2011)
2005 Danny Phantom Freakshow Voice
Episode: "Control Freaks"
2006 American Dad! Quacky Voice
Episode: "It's Good to Be The Queen"
2006 Danny Phantom Freakshow Voice
Episode: "Reality Trip"
2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Himself Uncredited Cameo
2010–11 Hannah Montana Kenneth Truscott Episodes:
"The Wheel Near My Bed (Keeps on Turnin')"
"I Am Mamaw, Hear Me Roar!"
2012 Husbands Vic Del Rey Episodes:
"The Straightening"
"A Better Movie of What We’re Like"
2013 Mom Customer Episode: "Pilot"; also director of Episode: "Corned Beef and Handcuffs"
2015 NCIS Dr. Cyril Taft (Navy Surgeon) Episode:
Stop the Bleeding/recurring role
Saviors/recurring role

References

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  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Jon Cryer: Bibliography
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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