Melanie Lynskey has pushed back on an online claim that she earned between $200,000 and $300,000 per episode of Two and a Half Men. The actor, who played Rose on the CBS sitcom, said the estimate was far from accurate in a comment on Instagram on October 25.
Lynskey said she appeared in 63 of the show’s 262 episodes and began at $20,000 per episode, with what she recalled as a 5 percent raise each season. She noted that more than half of her appearances were in the first two seasons. Her highest episode paycheck, she said, was about $43,000 in the final season.
Those figures were before deductions for agents, managers and taxes. Lynskey said she generally took home around half of her pay after those costs, but emphasized that she was grateful for the job and the income. It helped her cover her mortgage and bills, and gave her the opportunity to work in independent films and build her career.
The discussion began after an Instagram user shared a clip from the Alchemy With Anthony Mason podcast featuring Lynskey’s former costar Holland Taylor. Taylor said in the interview that the show had not paid her very well and that she had never received a raise. The user also claimed Taylor earned $75,000 per episode, though Taylor did not give a specific figure in the interview.
Lynskey said she was speaking up because the salary claim about her had been misreported. She added that she was 25 when she got the role and was able to make a down payment on a house a few years later. She also praised Taylor, saying the actor deserved raises.
Sources: Us Weekly.