Jon Cryer is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Alan Harper on the CBS situational comedy Two and a Half Men. The television series aired for twelve seasons, from 2003 until 2015, and originally starred Charlie Sheen, Cryer, and Angus T. Jones. Jon Cryer was born on April 16, 1965, in New York City, New York; his mother is a playwright and his father is and actor and a singer who once studied to be a minister. Cryer decided to become an actor at the age of twelve and attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training center as a teenager. After graduating from Bronx High School, Cryer attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, United Kingdom. His first professional acting job was to replace Matthew Broderick in the Broadway production of Torch Song Trilogy. For his work on Two and a Half Men, Cryer has received seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations with two wins.

He is also known as the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the long running series. Jon Cryer has been married twice; first to British actress Sarah Trigger, from 1999 until 2004. The couple has a son named Charlie Austin. Cryer’s second marriage was in 2007, to entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner. It was announced in 2009 that the couple had adopted a girl named Daisy.