Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in No Small Affair (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes-written film Pretty in Pink (1986). Cryer then had lead roles in the films Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987) and Hiding Out (1987), starring roles in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and Hot Shots! (1991), and the lead role of Teddy Zakalokis on the CBS sitcom The Famous Teddy Z (1989–1990).
In the late 1990s and 2000s, Cryer transitioned to television, with main roles as Bob on the Fox sitcom Partners (1995–1996), Sam Wagner on the Fox sitcom Getting Personal (1998), and Zack Mango on the ABC sitcom The Trouble with Normal (2000–2001). He also starred in the film Holy Man (1998), and wrote, produced, and starred in the independent film Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five (1998).
Cryer experienced a career resurgence when he was cast in a co-leading role as Alan Harper on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men (2003–2015), for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2009 and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television in 2011.<!-- Cites full name and DoB --> in New York City. His mother, Gretchen Cryer (née Kiger), is a playwright, songwriter, actress and singer. His father, Donald David Cryer, is an actor and singer who originally studied to be a minister. His paternal grandfather, the Rev. Donald Walter Cryer, was a prominent Methodist minister. He has two sisters, Robin and Shelly. and is a 1983 graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. He was classmates with screenwriter and film director Boaz Yakin. To his mother's "great disappointment," he skipped college and went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England, for a summer short course in Shakespeare.
Career
Career beginnings
thumb|right|140px|Cryer at the 2003 premiere of [[Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl]]
Cryer's first professional acting effort was as David in the Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy, replacing Matthew Broderick, whom he "closely resembled." He reprised the role in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
At age 19, Cryer appeared in the 1984 romantic comedy film No Small Affair, in the lead role as Charles Cummings, after the original production with Matthew Broderick was shut down when director Martin Ritt suffered a heart attack. He went on to appear in small roles in films and television films.
Cryer made his film breakthrough as Philip F. "Duckie" Dale in the John Hughes-scripted film Pretty in Pink. In an interview with the Daily News, Cryer's mother Gretchen said that after Pretty in Pink, she started getting calls from teenage girls from all over the world, who would leave hysterical, giggling messages on her answering machine.
Cryer then starred in the 1987 film Hiding Out as a stockbroker on the run from a Mafia hit man. His mother Gretchen played his aunt. The film broke even, but Cryer's performance as a character who was much older than him was critically acclaimed. In the same year, he played Lenny Luthor, nephew of supervillain Lex Luthor, in the film Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. In 1989, he got the lead role in the TV comedy series The Famous Teddy Z. His performance gained poor reviews and the show was canceled after the first season. That same year he appeared alongside future Two and a Half Men costar Charlie Sheen in the Jim Abrahams comedy Hot Shots!, Cryer is frequently linked to the Brat Pack. In a March 2009 interview on Anytime with Bob Kushell, Cryer stated that he had auditioned for St. Elmo's Fire but was not cast in a role. In 1993, he was asked to audition for the role of Chandler Bing on Friends, while doing a play in London. His reading was videotaped by a British casting agent but the tape failed to arrive in the U.S. before the network had made its final decision.
In 1995, Cryer was cast as Bob in the sitcom Partners, which, like his prior show The Famous Teddy Z, was canceled after its first season. In an interview with Time Out New York he stated, "Hey, every show I'm in goes down. Think about this: George Clooney was in 28 pilots, or something. It means nothing." Leonard Maltin from Playboy Magazine called it "a breath of fresh air." That same year, Cryer landed in another TV series, the Fox sitcom Getting Personal, alongside Vivica A. Fox and Duane Martin. Although the show was picked up for a second season after its abbreviated spring run, it was canceled that fall, after airing 17 episodes in total.
In 1999, Cryer appeared as Neal in Jeffrey Sweet's play Bluff at the Victory Gardens Theater. In 2000, he was cast as the lead in a comedy series called The Trouble with Normal. For the third time, Cryer starred in a show which was canceled after its first season.
Two and a Half Men
Cryer's long run of unsuccessful TV projects finally ended in 2003. Against the wishes of CBS executives (who were aware of his past failures) and due to a friendship with Charlie Sheen, he was cast as Alan Harper on the hit comedy series Two and a Half Men. (He had auditioned for the role of Gaius Baltar on the Sci-Fi Channel's reimagined Battlestar Galactica at around the same time, but the role went to James Callis.) Cryer earned seven Primetime Emmy Awards nominations and two wins
Further acting and TV roles
In 2008, Cryer appeared with Laurence Fishburne and James Cromwell in the film Tortured, and in 2009 co-starred with James Spader in the film Shorts.
In 2011, Cryer played the role of David in a concert staging of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. The all-star cast was headed by Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone. The concert subsequently aired on PBS's Great Performances.
Cryer made a guest appearance on the sitcom series Husbands in its second season. He was initially cast to voice the lead character in DisneyToon Studios' animated film Planes, a spin-off of Pixar's Cars franchise, but later dropped out and was replaced by Dane Cook. Cryer did however receive a credit on the film for "additional story material."
In 2015, Cryer released a memoir, So That Happened, a breezy, often comic tale chronicling Cryer's 30-year career on stage, film and television.
Cryer appeared in the drama series NCIS, where he played Navy Dr. Cyril Taft who treats NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Cryer had expressed a desire to appear in NCIS since it premiered in 2003.
Pursuing a passion for criminal justice, Cryer joined the team of the popular podcast Undisclosed where he will be voicing the weekly addendum episode for the second season. After appearing on the podcast Crime Writers On... it was announced that he would join the Undisclosed podcast for their second season.
On May 21, 2018, Cryer was featured in the season 9 premiere of genealogy program Who Do You Think You Are? Cryer uncovered the dramatic tale of his ancestor James Adams, a Scottish Covenanter soldier who was captured during the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, and endured horrific conditions as a prisoner. He was then transported to America an indentured servant to work at the Saugus Iron Works at Lynn, Massachusetts. As part of his research for the episode, Cryer visited the site of the Battle of Dunbar, Durham Cathedral in Durham, North East England – where surviving Scottish prisoners were held until they were indentured – and the Saugus Iron Works national historic site. Cryer said: "Seeing the resilience of my family over centuries, you can see the legacy he left. I can't help but feel lucky...clearly, the resilience of my family, that spine of steel, was not something that came from nowhere. Moving forward, I'm going to take James Adams' strength as my inspiration and know that when you go through very, very difficult times, if you can turn around and help the people around you who had it even worse, that's real strength. And I aspire to be one of those people."
On November 16, 2018, it was announced that Cryer had been cast as Lex Luthor on The CW's Supergirl in a recurring role. (He had previously played Lenny Luthor, Lex Luthor's nephew, in the 1987 film Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.) His first appearance in the fifteenth episode of Season 4, titled "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". He reprised the role in the Batwoman and The Flash episodes of the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths.
On April 15, 2019, Cryer joined other WGA writers in firing their agents as part of the WGA's stand against the ATA and the practice of packaging.
Personal life
thumb|right|Cryer with wife [[Lisa Joyner in September 2011]]
In 1999 Cryer married British actress Sarah Trigger, and they had a son named Charlie Austin. On September 29, 2009, they announced the adoption of a baby girl.
Cryer adheres to the Methodist faith of his upbringing.
When Pretty in Pink co-star Molly Ringwald told Out magazine in 2012 that she believed Cryer's character in the film, Duckie, was gay, Cryer stated, "I respectfully disagree. I want to stand up for all the slightly effeminate dorks that are actually heterosexual. Just 'cause the gaydar is going off, doesn't mean your instruments aren't faulty. I've had to live with that, and that's OK." Also in 2012, he told Jeff Probst that when he and Joyner started dating, she wondered if he might be gay because "he never kissed me." Cryer was asked in 2014 if he was "mistaken for gay"; he called himself "an effeminate heterosexual dork" and made a tongue-in-cheek remark about never being propositioned: "Fellas, you're dropping the ball."
Political views
Prior to the 2008 presidential election, Cryer attended a fundraiser hosted by the McCain campaign and, according to news reports, endorsed John McCain. When Cryer did not make a public endorsement for the 2012 election, Cryer's spokesperson said the 2008 report aligning him with the Republican Party was a "mistake" and that Cryer was "not really political." Cryer had attended events for both Republicans and Democrats "because he wanted to hear what both sides had to say."
In regard to Donald Trump, Cryer opined on the May 5, 2016, episode of the podcast Never Not Funny that "Donald Trump is the Charlie Sheen of politics," comparing Sheen's drug addiction to a perceived Trump "addict[ion] to feeling important".<!-- Cites previous three sentences -->
Cryer was an active supporter of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and also a supporter of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
In 2025, he was spotted in the background of a photograph detailing the No Kings protests (October 2025). He expressed his support for the movement and also stated:
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1984
|No Small Affair
|Charles Cummings
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1985
|Noon Wine
|Teenage Herbert Thompson
|
|-
|O.C. and Stiggs
|Randall Schwab Jr.
|
|-
|1986
|Pretty in Pink
|Phil "Duckie" Dale
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |1987
|Morgan Stewart's Coming Home
|Morgan Stewart
|
|-
|Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
|Lenny Luthor
|
|-
|Dudes
|Grant
|
|-
|Hiding Out
|Andrew Morenski/Max Hauser
|
|-
|1989
|Penn & Teller Get Killed
|Frat Boy
|
|-
|1991
|Hot Shots!
|Jim "Wash Out" Pfaffenbach
|
|-
|1993
|The Waiter
|Tommy Kazdan
|
|-
|1994
|Heads
|Guy Franklin
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1996
|The Pompatus of Love
|Mark
|Writer
|-
|Cannes Man
|Himself
|
|-
|1997
|Plan B
|Stuart Winer
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1998
|Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five
|Daniel
|Writer and producer
|-
|Holy Man
|Barry
|
|-
|2001
|Glam
|Jimmy Pells
|
|-
|2003
|The Metro Chase
|Mr. Stamm
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2008
|Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby
|Richard Pig
|Voice
|-
|Tortured
|Brian Mark
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2009
|Weather Girl
|Charles
|
|-
|Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock
|Bill Thompson
|
|-
|Stay Cool
|Javier
|
|-
|2010
|Due Date
|Alan Harper
|Cameo
|-
|2011
|Company
|David
|Filmed performance
|-
|rowspan="2" |2013
|Ass Backwards
|Dean Morris
|
|-
|Planes
|Dusty Crophopper (original trailer only; Cryer does not appear in final film, replaced with Dane Cook)
|Writer; additional story material
|-
|2014
|Hit by Lightning
|Ricky Miller
|
|-
|2019
|Big Time Adolescence
|Reuben Harris
|
|-
|2021
|18½
|H. R. Haldeman
|Voice
|-
|2024
|Brats
|Himself
|Documentary
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1986
|Amazing Stories
|Phil
|Episode: "Miscalculation"
|-
|1988
|Cinemax Comedy Experiment
|Himself
|Episode: "Rap Master Ronnie: A Report Card"
|-
|1989–1990
|The Famous Teddy Z
|Teddy Zakalokis
|20 episodes
|-
|1995–1996
|Partners
|Bob
|22 episodes
|- Netflix “the ranch”
|1996
|The Outer Limits
|Trevor McPhee
|Episode: "Vanishing Act"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1997
|It's Good to Be King
|Mort
|
|-
|Dharma & Greg
|Brian
|Episode: "Shower the People You Love with Love"
|-
| rowspan="4" |1998
|Getting Personal
|Sam Wagner
|17 episodes (also producer)
|-
|Hercules
|The Winged Wolves
|Voice, episode: "Hercules and the Underworld Takeover"
|-
|Mr. Show with Bob and David
|Duckie
|Episode: "It's Perfectly Understandishable"
|-
|Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place
|Justin
|Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and a Thanksgiving"
|-
|2000–2001
|The Trouble with Normal
|Zack Mango
|13 episodes
|-
|2000
|Family Guy
|Wiseguy
|Voice, episode: "There's Something About Paulie"
|-
| rowspan="2" |2002
|
|Lemuel Praeger
|Episode: "Gimme a C"
|-
|The Practice
|Terry Pender
|Episode: "Of Thee I Sing"
|-
| rowspan="3" |2003
|Becker
|Roger
|Episode: "Chris' Ex"
|-
|Hey Joel
|Joel Stein
|Voice, 13 episodes
|-
|Stripperella
|
|Voice, 3 episodes
|-
| 1983
| Brighton Beach Memoirs
| Eugene Jerome
| Alvin Theatre
|
|-
| 1990
| Carnal Knowledge
| Sandy
| Kaufman Theater
|
|-
| 1994
| 900 Oneonta
| Gitlo
| The Old Vic
|
|-
| 1999
| Bluff
| Neal
| Victory Gardens Theater
|
|-
| 2011
| Company
| David
| Concert with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center
|
|}
Book
- So That Happened: A Memoir (2015) - Berkley – .
References
External links
- Jon Cryer at IMDb
- Jon Cryer at Internet Broadway Database
- (archive)