Ashton Kutcher is Walden Schmidt on 'Two and a Half Men'
Ashton Kutcher will join the cast of “Two And a Half Men” as Walden Schmidt, a heart-broken Internet billionaire.
CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler shared details about Kutcher’s character during the Television Critics Association press tour on Wednesday.
“We have an extraordinary actor in Ashton Kutcher. You have someone who is committed to doing their job and is incredibly professional,” said Tassler.
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Tassler refused to answer any questions about Charlie Sheen’s character, and did not confirm rumors that the character will be killed off.
“The mystery is part of the marketing. The chatter and the conversation is part of what the fun is going to be,” Tassler told reporters.
Walden Schmidt will not be related to Sheen’s womanizing character Charlie Harper, and Tassler did not reveal how the new character will relate to Alan Harper (played by Jon Cryer) or his son Jake (played by Angus T. Jones).
When asked about Charlie Sheen, Tassler sighed and said, “Oh, where to begin?”
And her answer to whether or not she would ever work with errant actor again, Tassler said, “Charlie’s moved on to greener pastures, he’s obviously got a lot of opportunity of his slate, she he’s busy.”
There has been much concern about the show retaining the popular ratings in Sheen’s absence. Tassler clearly has great optimism for the show, and said, “The show is brilliantly written, and extraordinarily produced. And (we) have an opportunity moving forward to create this amazing character and deliver a great show.”
“Let me just say that it (the script) is as smart and funny and irreverent and risqué as the show has always been and has that tradition. I think people who are fans of the show will be really happy and I feel that the show now has an opportunity to recruit a new audience,” continued Tassler.
Tassler said of Kutcher that he “looks great” and that the character of Walden Schmidt did not require any drastic change to Kutcher’s appearance.
“He’s an incredibly attractive, appealing guy and (there are) no network notes about it,” said Tassler when asked about whether Kutcher had to shave or cut his hair.
Filming of the first episode of the forthcoming season is scheduled to take place on Friday. The new season starts on September 19, and the first episode, split in two parts, will broadcast over a two-week period.
