{"id":67821,"date":"2024-01-11T01:12:07","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T01:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/11\/jon-cryer-recalls-falling-asleep-onstage-during-his-broadway-debut\/"},"modified":"2024-01-11T01:12:07","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T01:12:07","slug":"jon-cryer-recalls-falling-asleep-onstage-during-his-broadway-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/11\/jon-cryer-recalls-falling-asleep-onstage-during-his-broadway-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Jon Cryer Recalls Falling Asleep Onstage During His Broadway Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>

\n Jon Cryer.<\/span> Amy Sussman\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jon Cryer<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Broadway debut did not go as planned after he accidentally fell asleep on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fancy myself a very professional actor but apparently that\u2019s not true,\u201d Cryer. 58, said during a Wednesday, January 10 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show<\/em><\/a>, \u201cOne of my very first jobs was in a Broadway show called Brighton Beach Memoirs<\/em> \u2026 and my character had to fall asleep at one point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cryer, who played Eugene Jerome in the 1983 Neil Simon<\/strong> production, explained how at one point in the play, his character was supposed to head upstairs and go to sleep in his room. However, Cryer seemingly took the direction a little too literally.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have not experienced terror until you\u2019ve realized that you fell asleep during the Broadway show you\u2019re starring in,\u201d he quipped to Clarkson.<\/p>\n

Cryer shared that while he was snoozing his costar Patrick Breen<\/strong> came to his rescue and woke him up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember just laying there and he was \u2018sleeping\u2019 across from me. But he is a better actor who fakes it, apparently,\u201d he shared. \u201cAnd I remember just the look on his face going, \u2018Jon. Jon. Jon!\u2019 And his eyes got all huge and then I was like, \u2018Huh, I wonder what his problem is.\u2019 And then the adrenaline shot of all time went through my body because I realized I had fallen asleep during the play I was supposed to be in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Jon<\/div>
Vera Anderson\/WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once Cryer jolted awake, he confessed that \u201cmuscle memory\u201d kicked in thanks to all of the rehearsals.He delivered his monologue and the show continued. Clarkson quipped that Cryer should have felt \u201cfresh\u201d from the nap.<\/p>\n

While Cryer didn\u2019t face any repercussions for falling asleep, he teased he was actually fired from the production for a different reason.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Two\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>\u2018Two and a Half Men\u2019 Cast: Where Are They Now?<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tFrom the very beginning, Two and a Half Men was a hit for CBS, drawing in anywhere from 13 to 16 million viewers per season. Many have credited the sitcom\u2019s success to its long roster of A-list guest stars, from Kathy Bates (who won an Emmy in 2012 for her role as the ghost of [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI was actually Mathew Broderick<\/strong>\u2019s understudy for a long time \u2026 well not for that long cause they fired me,\u201d he explained. \u201cThat was my first gig, I was 18 and I was terrified and Matthew is a wonderful performer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broderick, 61, also made his Broadway debut in the same show and had originated the role that Cryer ended up performing briefly. Broderick\u2019s performance in Brighton Beach Memoirs<\/em> earned him his first Tony award and catapulted him into superstardom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey fired me right after he won the Tony,\u201d Cryer confessed. \u201cI think because they wanted somebody that people had heard of in the show taking over for him as opposed to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cryer wasn\u2019t the only one to fill in after Broderick left. Fisher Stevens<\/strong>, Doug McKeon<\/strong>, Robert Sean Leonard<\/strong> and Jonathan Silverman<\/strong> all played Eugene at one point. While Cryer was heartbroken to have lost the job, he admitted it was a \u201cformative experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n