Two and a Half Men child star explains why he left Hollywood after becoming the highest paid child actor

Former child actor Angus T. Jones has explained why he decided to leave the acting industry after finding success on Two and a Half Men. Most actors start in the industry when they're young. Jones, now 30, got his start at age five. His first role was in the 1999 film Simpatico, but it wasn't until four years later that he landed his first big role, starring alongside Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen as Jake Harper in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. The former actor appeared in 226 episodes before leaving the role in 2013. Two years later, he returned to the show for a guest appearance in the finale. After winning various Young Artist Awards for his role as Jake, it seemed like Jones' acting career would soar to new heights. He was also the highest-paid child actor in Hollywood at the time, making around $300,000 (£236,310) per episode. However, Jones needed more than money and fame to stay in the acting industry. Ultimately, he decided to leave the industry and pursue higher education at the University of Colorado. When he left the show in 2014, Jones told US news station KHOU that he felt like a "hypocrite" for starring in a show that made fun of real-life problems. "It was trivializing issues that are significant challenges for many people," he told the outlet. "I was being paid to be a hypocrite because I wasn't OK with it, but I was still doing it." Jones's decision to leave the show came simultaneously with his decision to join the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, a socially conservative Christian sect. In religious videos, he spoke out against his role on Two and a Half Men, encouraging fans not to watch the show and calling the series "filth." After getting some backlash for his comments, Jones later clarified in a statement to Us Weekly that he had "the highest regard and respect for all of the wonderful people on Two and a Half Men" and that he never meant to show "indifference" or "disrespect" to his former colleagues. "I apologize if my remarks came across as indifferent and disrespectful to my colleagues and as if I didn't appreciate the incredible opportunity I was given," he added. After taking a few years off, Jones came back to the spotlight in 2023. He appeared as a guest star in "Bookie" and reunited with his former co-star, Sheen.