Chuck Lorre said his star “left the show for mysterious reasons that weren’t mysterious to anyone on the show.”
Iconic TV creator Chuck Lorre has revealed he had big reservations about casting Anna Faris in his hit sitcom. Mom– and thinks his doubts have been proven “correct”.
“I initially said no; I wasn’t sure Anna would be appropriate for this kind of material,” Lorre, 73, wrote in his new memoir, Situation comedy.
In addition to MomLorre has created Emmy-winning sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory And Two and a half men. Mom ran from 2013 to 2021, and despite her initial refusal, Lorre ultimately cast Faris as Christy Plunkett, a single mother and recovering alcoholic who struggles with sobriety. She starred opposite Oscar-winning actress Allison Janney, 66, who played Christy’s estranged mother Bonnie, also a recovering alcoholic and drug addict.
Chuck Lorre feels justified in hesitating to cast Anna Faris in “Mom.”
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Although it’s unclear exactly why Lorre doubts Faris, 49, it may have to do with Faris’ working relationship with actor Charlie Sheen, with whom Lorre has a checkered past. Faris and Sheen, 61, starred in Horror movie 3 (2003) and Horror movie 4 (2006), and Faris said she “loved working with him.”
The shine Horror movie his stint overlapped with his starring role in Two and a half menlaunched in 2003. As the series progressed, Sheen’s behavior became erratic and his struggles with addiction made filming a “nightmare,” Lorre wrote. CBS and Warner Bros. fired Sheen in 2011 over his bad behavior, but Sheen blamed Lorre. The actor sued the writer in 2011 for $100 million; they settled privately.
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Lorre said his “failed” relationship with Sheen convinced him to give Faris a chance.
Charlie Sheen sued Chuck Lorre for $100 million in March 2011. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
“Anyone’s personal life is none of my business,” Lorre wrote, explaining his thought process. “The mother in Mom would and should be Anna Faris.
Still, Lorre wrote that he felt vindicated after the actress left in 2020, before MomThis is the eighth and final season. He thinks his departure proved his first instinct right.
“As the years passed, it became clear that my initial reluctance to hire Anna was in fact correct,” he wrote. “After six years, she left the show for mysterious reasons that weren’t mysterious to anyone on the show.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Faris for comment.
Lorre did not specify these reasons in the book. But Faris later confessed Happy Sad Confused podcast that the intensity of the show made him “lose his concentration”. She also said the only job she had for more than three months was as a waitress, so she was unprepared for this long-term commitment. Mom presented.
Anna Faris (left) and Allison Janney (right) in “Mom.”
When Faris announced her departure in 2020, she thanked Lorre and her comrades.
“Over the past seven years Mom have been among the most rewarding and enriching of my career,” she said in a statement to E! News at the time. “I am so grateful to (Lorre), the writers and my incredible colleagues for creating a truly wonderful work experience. Although my journey as Christy is over, allowing me to pursue new opportunities, I will watch the next season and support my television family.”
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