Jon Cryer facts for kids
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Jon Cryer
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Cryer at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2011
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| Born |
Jonathan Niven Cryer
April 16, 1965 |
| Occupation | Actor, writer, film director, film producer |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Trigger (1999–2004; 1 child) Lisa Joyner (2007–present; 1 child, adopted) |
Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor and television director. 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. 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. Cryer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television in 2011.
After appearing on the podcast Crime Writers On... it was announced Cryer is joining the team at the Undisclosed podcast for their second season.
Early life
Cryer was born in New York City, New York. His mother, Gretchen Cryer (née Kiger; * 1935), is a playwright, songwriter, actress and singer. His father, Donald David Cryer (born 1936), is an actor and singer who originally studied to be a minister.
When Cryer was twelve years old, he decided that he wanted to become an actor. When his mother heard this, she thought he should have a backup plan, and joked: "Plumbing is a pretty good career." Cryer attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center for several summers as a teenager, and is a 1983 graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. He was classmates with screenwriter and film director Boaz Yakin. Cryer skipped college and went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, United Kingdom for a summer short course in Shakespeare.
Personal life
Cryer married British actress Sarah Trigger in 1999, with whom he has a son, Charlie Austin. 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 in June 2007. On September 29, 2009, Cryer and Joyner announced that they adopted a baby girl.
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. Also in 2012, Joyner told Jeff Probst that when she and Cryer started dating, she wondered if he might be gay. Cryer was asked in 2014 if he was "mistaken for gay"; he again called himself "an effeminate heterosexual dork".
Film and television credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | No Small Affair | Charles Cummings | Debut |
| 1985 | Noon Wine | Teenage Herbert | TV movie |
| 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 | direct-to-video | |
| 1989 | Penn & Teller Get Killed | 3rd Frat Boy | |
| 1991 | Hot Shots! | Jim 'Wash Out' Pfaffenbach | |
| 1993 | The Waiter | Tommy Kazdan | |
| 1993 | Heads | Guy Franklin | TV movie |
| 1996 | The Pompatus of Love | Mark | also as writer |
| 1996 | Cannes Man | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| 1997 | Plan B | Stuart Winer | |
| 1998 | Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five | Daniel | also as writer and producer |
| 1998 | Holy Man | Barry | |
| 2000 | Clayton | ||
| 2001 | Glam | Jimmy Pells | |
| 2003 | The Metro Chase | Mr. Stamm | TV movie |
| 2008 | Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby | Richard Pig | Voice role |
| 2008 | Tortured | Brian | |
| 2009 | Weather Girl | Charles | completed |
| 2009 | Shorts | Dad Thompson | |
| 2009 | Stay Cool | Javier | |
| 2010 | Due Date | Alan Harper | cameo |
| 2013 | Planes | Dusty Crophopper | Voice Role In-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Amazing Stories | Phil | Episode: "Miscalculation" |
| 1989–1990 | The Famous Teddy Z | Teddy Zakalokis | |
| 1995–1996 | Partners | Bob | also as 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 | Episode: "Sam I am" Cryer also produced the series |
| 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, 2010 | Family Guy | Kevin Swanson, Himself | Episodes: "There's Something About Paulie", "Brian Griffin's House of Payne" |
| 2000–2001 | 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–present | Two and a Half Men | Alan Harper | main cast member; directed three episodes between 2007–present Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2009) 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, 2006 | Danny Phantom | Freakshow | Episodes: "Reality Trip" and "Control Freaks" |
| 2006 | American Dad! | Quacky (Parody of his Pretty in Pink character, Duckie.) | Episode: "It's Good to Be Queen" |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Alan Harper | Cameo |
| 2010, 2011 | Hannah Montana | Kenneth Truscott | Episodes: "The Wheel Near My Bed (Keeps on Turnin')" and "I Am Mamaw, Hear Me Roar!" |
Images for kids
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Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer at a ceremony for Cryer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2011
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Jon Cryer Pirates of the Caribbean Premiere 2003
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Two and a Half Men cast and Chuck Lorre in September 2011
