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- Charlie Sheen spoke to Yahoo! Entertainment about his infamous “tiger blood” and “winning” remarks.
- One of his biggest regrets was demanding a larger salary while on “Two and a Half Men.”
- He attributed his behavior to mental health struggles and drug addiction.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Charlie Sheen recalled his tumultuous exit from “Two and a Half Men,” which was marked by drug addiction, disagreements on salary, and his infamous “tiger blood” comment.
During an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Sheen revealed that he regrets much of his behavior that made headlines 10 years ago.
In 2011, Sheen was the highest-paid actor on TV with a nearly $2 million-per-episode paycheck at the peak of “Two and a Half Men.” Behind the cameras, however, the 55-year-old’s personal life was in a tailspin.
Sheen pleaded guilty to assaulting his former wife, Brooke Mueller, on Christmas Day in 2010. He was also in a very public fight with the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre, who he repeatedly insulted in interviews.
Sheen infamously made remarks like “winning,” “tiger blood, “Adonis DNA,” and “warlock,” which quickly gained notoriety among fans.
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"People have [said to] me, 'Hey, man, that was so cool, that was so fun to watch. That was so cool to be a part of and support and all that energy and, you know, we stuck it to the man,'" Sheen told Yahoo! Entertainment.
"My thought behind that is, 'Oh, yeah, great. I'm so glad that I traded early retirement for a f-----g hashtag," he added.
"Two and a Half Men" went on a hiatus so Sheen could receive treatment, but he was later fired for what executives said in a statement was his "dangerously self-destructive conduct," among other reasons.
Sheen revealed that one of his biggest regrets from that period was demanding a pay raise on "Two and a Half Men."
"There was 55 different ways for me to handle that situation, and I chose number 56," Sheen said. "And so, you know, I think the growth for me post-meltdown or melt forward or melt somewhere - however you want to label it - it has to start with absolute ownership of my role in all of it."
He added that "it was desperately juvenile."
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The "Anger Management" actor told Yahoo! Entertainment that at one point, former CBS CEO Les Moonves and his top lawyer secured a jet to fly him to rehab.
"My first thought was sort of like really … there's some comedy value to what my first thought was," said Sheen.
"In that moment, when I said, 'Oh, damn, I finally get the Warner jet.' That's all I heard. But if I could go back in time to that moment, I would've gotten on the jet," he added. "And it was that giant left turn in that moment that led to, you know, a very unfortunate sequence of public and insane events."
Sheen said his behavior stemmed from his drug addiction and the immense pressures of fame.
"I think it was drugs or the residual effects of drugs … and it was also an ocean of stress and a volcano of disdain. It was all self-generated, you know," he told Yahoo! Entertainment.
"All I had to do was take a step back and say, 'OK, let's make a list. Let's list, like, everything that's cool in my life that's going on right now," he said. "Let's make a list of what's not cool.' You know what I'm saying? And the cool list was really full. The not cool list was, like, two things that could've been easily dismissed."
In recent years, Sheen has worked on his personal growth and made strides in his progress.
In 2018, Sheen celebrated one year of sobriety after relapsing following his HIV diagnosis.
That same year, he said during an interview that he decided to get sober after being too drunk to drive his daughter to an appointment.
"I don't drink and drive, ever," he told the hosts. "I called my buddy Tony and we got her to the thing and got her home. And it was that night, I was like, 'Wow, I'm not even responsible enough to be available for my children's needs."
"The next morning I just woke up and said, 'Today's the day.' That was it," Sheen said.