Charlie Sheen has compared the media frenzy surrounding his sacking from Two and a Half Men to a runaway train.
The actor appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday evening to discuss the end of his tenure on the CBS comedy, his catchphrases, next week's Comedy Central 'roast' and his future projects.
Sheen began by talking about the media storm surrounding his erratic behaviour earlier this year, saying: "Wow... it was like a runaway train that I was kind of the reluctant conductor of, and it just kept going.
"I said some things that were a little out there... I might have just overshot the mark a little bit - but these are just metaphors, Jay. I didn't really believe in tiger blood or Adonis DNA, I mean, these were just jokes, you know!"
Sheen added of his catchphrases such as 'tiger blood' and 'winning': "I wish I could just come out here and explain it all to you and all these good people, but I think it would make less sense if I tried to explain it - if that's possible, you know?"
When Sheen was asked by Leno if there was a point where he realised things had gone too far, he admitted: "Yeah, it was the day I got fired from my big television show."
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He then quipped: "I thought I could come back - kind of like you did. I mean that with all love and respect," to which Leno responded: "Well, at least one of us got their job back."
Sheen said that while he had not had contact with any of the Two and a Half Men executives since he was fired, he had "zero" animosity towards them and revealed that he understood the reasons behind his dismissal, saying: "No, no, I'd have fired my ass too. Well, maybe not like they did... it is what it is, you know?
"It was bad, and I own my part in that, and I just want to make everything right, you know? I should have been a little more responsible about the condition I was showing up in. I was hitting my marks, I was delivering, but maybe at a sub-par level. But that's alright. As I said, it is what it is and I just want to move forward."
Sheen continued: "I tried [to make contact]. I couldn't get a return phone call. Again, I don't think I would have returned my phone calls."
When asked about his replacement Ashton Kutcher, he said: "It's hard to give advice to a guy that accomplished. I would just give him a hug and say, 'Make me proud, dude'."
Two and a Half Men and The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen will both air on Monday, September 19.
Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
Upon remembering to log off the internet, Kate enjoys live theatre, dance and comedy, appreciating nature, baking (badly), tending a recently-rented allotment (equally badly) and pampering one very spoiled rescue cat named Jolene.
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