Denise Richards convinced ex-husband Charlie Sheen to take ‘Two & a Half Men’ role

Denise Richards pushed her ex-husband Charlie Sheen to take one of his most career-defining roles as Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men, and she regretted it.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum made the revelation, along with several others about her relationship with the actor, on this week’s episode of Just B with Bethenny Frankel.

“He got Two and a Half Men while I was pregnant [with daughter Sami],” the 52-year-old actress told Frankel. “He was nervous about starting a new TV show after Spin City got canceled. By the way, I read the script for [Two and a Half Men] and said, ‘You have to do this show,’” she recalled.

Richards further recalled that Sheen was going to sign up on a different show, to which she told him, “You’re crazy for not doing this.”

Her persuasion worked, as Sheen would then star on the Chuck Lorre sitcom for eight seasons from 2003 to 2011, earning two golden globe nominations, four Emmy nominations, and the title of the highest-paid actor in 2010.

But Richards soon regretted her actions, positing that the success of the show led to her former husband “getting back into not being sober.”

Noting that she does not want to speak about the show’s impact on Sheen’s behalf, Richard expressed, “All I know is he was no longer the person that I married and no longer sober.”

Sheen was fired from the CBS show in 2012 for repeatedly insulting Lorre during his highly publicised battle with addiction, though they have since buried the hatchet.