Melanie Lynskey Clarifies Her ‘Two and a Half Men’ Salary, Reveals How Much She Actually Earned Through the Years
One of Melanie Lynskey‘s first major roles was playing Rose on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men and there are incorrect reports out there about how much she earned for the job.
Melanie appeared as a series regular for the first two seasons and then recurred after that, appeared in 63 episodes total across the shows 12 seasons and 262 episodes total. While she appeared in every season, the bulk of her episodes were at the very beginning of the series.
In an Instagram post, a fan noted how Melanie “made 200,000 to 300,000 in the end,” per episode. The comment was on a post about Holland Taylor‘s decision to leave the show after they claimed they couldn’t afford to pay her more, despite the male actors’ massive salaries.
Melanie Lynskey corrects a report about how much she earned for Two and a Half Men
Melanie shut down rumors that she earned $200,000 to $300,000 per episode by the end of the series.
“Sorry, but this insane number is floating around on the internet and I must tell you how wrong it is. I only did 63 out of 262 episodes of that show. I made literally one tenth of that stated number per episode (started at $20,000 with I believe a 5% raise each season, but more than half of the episodes I did were in the first two seasons),” she began.
Melanie continued, “The highest paycheck I got on the show was I think $43,000 for one episode in the final season. This is before agents, managers, business managers cuts, and taxes, so you take home around 50% of what you are paid. I was extremely grateful for the job and for the money, it allowed me to pay my small mortgage and pay bills and be able to work in indie movies and build a career, but there is this insane idea that I made millions of dollars and it’s so ridiculous. If Holland’s talking about it I’ll talk about it too.”
Melanie was still extremely grateful for the money she earned.
Melanie Lynskey was still very happy with the money she made!
After the fan apologized for spreading the wrong data, Melanie replied.
She wrote, “That’s so sweet, but I will say that that money was huge for me!! I was 25 years old when I got that job, and a couple of years in I was able to put a down payment on a house. I always think in terms of how lucky I am compared to the vast majority of actors because it is so, so hard to make a living. I had struggled so much at that point so I was very grateful. It wasn’t my show and I felt fine with what I was paid- I just get annoyed when it’s misreported. Also Holland is and was a legend and a queen and deserved many raises!!!!”
Read what Holland Taylor said about her pay for the show.
Posted To:Melanie Lynskey Television Two and a Half Men
