Two and a Half Men
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$15 Million
"I don't really know if I want to do acting as a career. I really don't know what I want to do yet." While the name might not draw you in, Angus T. Jones is probably more famous than even he knows. Jones became famous thanks to his work as a child actor on the raunchy CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men. Jones played the youngest member of the star trio alongside Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer.
Jones appeared on Two and a Half Men from 2003 until 2015 before leaving the show in order to pursue other endeavors. Before leaving the hit sitcom, Jones would become the highest-paid child actor in Hollywood history. Now completely removed from a life of fame and fortune, Jones is pursuing an experience far different from the one he acted out on Two and a Half Men.
Straight to Hollywood
Angus Turner Jones was born October 8, 1993. Jones was born in Austin, TX, though he would spend the vast majority of his life in Los Angeles, CA, where he worked on Two and a Half Men. Jones has been a member of Hollywood since he was just six-years-old. Despite being raised in Hollywood, Jones has done a phenomenal job of keeping his public life separated from his personal life.
While little is known about Jones during his childhood, we do know that he would later go on to attend the University of Colorado Boulder after leaving Two and a Half Men. We also know that Jones has since abandoned his career as an actor in order to pursue a career more closely tied to his church. Jones would be baptized in 2012 and his turn to religion would directly lead to his extraction from the world of entertainment.
Making Career Changes
Angus T. Jones made his Hollywood debut in 1999 when he was cast in the feature film, Simpatico. Simpatico also starred Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, and Sharon Stone. Despite the strong cast, the film would receive middling marks and Jones' appearance in the film was relegated to a couple of small scenes. Following Simpatico, Jones would appear in a number of minor projects including See Spot Run (2001) alongside David Arquette and The Rookie (2002) next to Dennis Quaid.
After kickstarting his career with a number of minor roles, Jones would be brought into the production house of Two and a Half Men to audition for the role of Jake Harper. The hit sitcom revolves around a divorced father and his free-living brother, played by Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen, as they navigate the world while raising a young child in the home. Jones would, of course, land the role of Jake Harper, and he would be instrumental in driving the success of the program. During the peak of the show's popularity, each episode would average more than 15 million viewers.
After being cast in Two and a Half Men, Jones would suddenly become one of the hottest young stars in Hollywood. By the time that Jones was 17, he would be the highest-paid child actor on television. From 2010 to 2012, Jones was making more than $300,000 per episode for a total of $7.8 million in earnings from two seasons alone. Jones would be given another raise though the money would no longer be an incentive for Jones.
As Jones began to age with his character, the writing team behind Two and a Half Men began to push the character of Jake Harper toward more adult-themed episodes. Jones' character would be given several very adult-themed episodes that revolved around sexual relations and heavy marijuana use. Jones made several public comments about how this character turn made him uncomfortable. According to Jones, it was hard to perform adult scenes as a 17-year-old kid.
In 2012, Jones would officially be baptized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Jones would begin following an independent church run by Christopher Hudson. Jones would appear on a Youtube channel for the church, known as the ForeRunner Chronicles, to talk about his life, faith, and career. During the sprawling conversation, Jones would insist that his fans quit watching Two and a Half Men. From the perspective of his new religion, Jones described his work on the show as 'filth'. Jones would go on to soften his comments, but the writing was clearly on the wall. Within a year, Jones would be written off of the show in order to pursue other aspects of his life. Jones would come back for one more episode of Two and a Half Men as he appeared in the series finale, 'Of Course He's Dead' in 2015.
After leaving Two and a Half Men, Jones has focused almost exclusively on his work with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Jones hasn't performed onscreen since a 2016 appearance on Horace and Pete. Jones is reportedly also working on a production company that was started by Kene Orjioke and Justin Combs.
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