Holland Taylor says playing Evelyn Harper on “Two and a Half Men” brought her four Emmy nominations but never a raise. When her six-year contract ended, she chose to give up the commitment of a regular deal.
The actress, 83, recalled the decision on the October 21 episode of “Alchemy with Anthony Mason.” She said the producers were astonished.
Taylor offered to return occasionally as a guest instead, continuing to play the mother of Charlie Sheen’s Charlie Harper and Jon Cryer’s Alan Harper.
The CBS comedy ran from 2003 to 2015. Taylor also had ambitions beyond Evelyn, including the solo stage project about former Texas Gov. Ann Richards that would take her to Broadway.
Holland Taylor Says Her Pay Fell Short of Her Emmy Recognition
“They never paid me very well on that show,” Taylor told Mason. She recalled earning roughly what she had received on another television series about eight years earlier.
She believed the recognition for her performance should at least have prompted a modest increase as a professional courtesy. Although she enjoyed much of the experience, she felt the production had fallen short in its treatment of her.
The Television Academy lists her supporting actress nominations for the sitcom in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010. She was already an Emmy winner when she joined the series. Her portrayal of Judge Roberta Kittleson on “The Practice” earned her the supporting actress in a drama award in 1999.
She Wanted Control of Her Schedule When Producers Talked Money
In Taylor’s recollection, the discussions kept returning to a pay increase she was no longer seeking. Producers told her they could not afford more, even after she explained that she did not want another contract.
She responded that they could offer her the cost of the building and it would not change her position. The sticking point was the obligation to remain under contract.
Taylor suspected the producers were trying to protect themselves against a significant raise. She mentioned Cryer as an example of an actor benefiting when a contract expires, while acknowledging that she did not know the precise figures involved.
The practical difference came when the show called about a specific week. If producers asked her to appear at the end of March, for example, she could say she was unavailable without having to arrange her life around the request.
‘Ann’ Gave Taylor a Project of Her Own
Taylor previously told the Los Angeles Times in 2022 that she declined renewal while focused on developing “Ann.” The stage featured prominently in her conversation with Mason, from her early acting jobs to studying with Stella Adler. She also remembered working with a young Tom Hanks on “Bosom Buddies.”
She researched, wrote and performed the portrait of Richards. According to PBS, much of the play grew from anecdotes shared directly with Taylor by people who knew the governor.
The production follows Richards through public remarks and private conversations, including exchanges with Bill Clinton and her granddaughter. Taylor carries the performance alone, moving between the governor’s work and family life.
The play premiered in Galveston in 2010 and reached Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater in 2013. That Broadway run earned Taylor a Tony nomination for leading actress in a play. It later reached television audiences through “Great Performances” in June 2020, using a performance filmed at Austin’s Zach Theatre in 2016.
Taylor’s latest sitcom role brings her back to another complicated screen family. In Apple TV’s “Brothers,” which premiered September 23, she plays Ma Mac, mother of Matthew McConaughey’s fictionalized version of himself. Her character reveals a family secret suggesting he and Woody Harrelson might be brothers.