Charlie Sheen: Time to reflect?

US actor Sheen says footage of meltdown made him flinch.

LOS ANGELES: US actor Charlie Sheen said on Thursday that watching the footage of his meltdown after being fired from hit TV show “Two and a Half Men” was “cringeable”, but he is sorry and wants to be successful again.

Sheen, who has started filming a new show called “Anger Management”, told the “The Today Show” on NBC television that seeing his outbursts on screen led him to scrap plans for a documentary about his apparent public breakdown last year.

“I can’t let people see this meltdown all over again,” he said, referring to footage of some of the many raving remarks he made after losing his job as television’s highest-paid actor. The actor was sacked after he denounced the producer of “Two and Half Men” in March 2011. “It was a little cringeable. I didn’t recognise parts of who that guy was,” Sheen said, referring to his behavior on a one-man tour he made which irked critics and fans alike.

Asked if watching himself looking so bad felt like an out-of-body experience, Sheen, who has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, replied, “Yeah, yeah it is. I just wish it was someone else’s body.”

The actor earned $2 million per show for his role as a hedonistic bachelor in “Two and a Half Men” but he was fired for slamming its producer Chuck Lorre in a rant described by his bosses as part of a “self-inflicted disintegration”.

The actor said that after his career nosedived he didn’t really chalk out a plan that would help him retrieve the popularity he’d lost. “I didn’t really have a plan. I guess the plan was just to introduce myself to the media and America and say ‘sorry about that’,” said Sheen, who regained his limelight by making appearances in commercials.

Cheers to the infamous life

Despite his haunting past, the actor says he is still faithful to alcohol. He said he has not given up alcohol and will not be subjected to drug testing by the producers of “Anger Management”, which premieres on June 28 on the FX television network.

“There’s no testing unless something horrible happens like I turn up covered in somebody else’s blood. However, like any other contact, there’s a morals clause in my contract as well.”

Sheen added that he and his situation is being closely monitored because, “There’s so much money at stake now. I don’t blame them.”

The actor revealed he addressed his past troubles with the crew of “Anger Management” at the opening meeting and admitted he still has “a little bit of bitterness” towards “Two and a Half Men”.

According to dailymail.co.uk, Sheen reportedly has a stake in the new show worth 20 per cent, which could earn him huge dividends if the show is a hit. The only question is will the incentive of profits manage to claw down Sheen’s tiger blood-drinking and sword-flinging spirit? Fingers crossed.

(With additional information from dailymail.co.uk)

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2012.