The son of Broadway performers David and Gretchen Cryer, Jon Cryer was indoctrinated into showbiz at a young age as a child model and stage performer. Although his early success as Molly Ringwald's manic buddy Duckie in
Pretty in Pink seemed to imply a wonderful future, his career stalled after a series of forgettable films. In the '90s Cryer wisely focused almost solely on television. Although four of his sitcoms flopped, he remained undaunted, and in 2003 he finally scored a hit as a pent-up single father on
Two and a Half Men. That role earned him Emmy nominations four years in a row, and he finally won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009.
Jon Cryer Fast Facts:
- Began acting in junior high school.
- Attended Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England, before his senior year of high school.
- Frequently mistaken for Matthew Broderick, whom he understudied and succeeded in the off-Broadway production of Torch Song Trilogy and the Broadway play Brighton Beach Memoirs.
- Another Broderick connection occured when Cryer made his film acting debut in No Small Affair, playing a role originally intended for Broderick.
- Cowrote, produced and starred in the independent films The Pompatus of Love and Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God...Be Back in Five.
- Formed a company of mail-order home-cooked food in 1995 with his mother, Gretchen Cryer.
- Jon Cryer Relationships:
- Lisa Joyner - Wife
- Charles Austin Cryer - Son
- Gretchen Cryer - Mother
- Robin Cryer - Sister
- Daisy - Daughter
- David Cryer - Father
- Sarah Trigger - Ex-wife
- Jon Cryer Awards:
- 2008 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2009 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Winner
- 2010 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2011 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2007 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Nominee