Editing Jon Cryer (section)

===Career beginnings===
[[File:Jon Cryer Pirates of the Caribbean Premiere.jpg|thumb|right|140px|Cryer at the 2003 premiere of ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl]]'']]
Cryer's first professional acting effort was as David in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] play ''[[Torch Song Trilogy]]'', replacing [[Matthew Broderick]], whom he "closely resembled."<ref>Alan Was Matthew BBroderick's Character.
David was the Adopted Son [https://movies.yahoo.com/person/jon-cryer/biography.html Jon Cryer: Bibliography]</ref> He reprised the role in San Francisco and Los Angeles.<ref name=IBDB /> He was later a standby and replacement for Broderick as Eugene Jerome in the original Broadway production of [[Neil Simon]]'s ''[[Brighton Beach Memoirs]]'' in 1984.<ref name="IBDB">{{cite web
|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jon-cryer-90206#broadway |title=Jon Cryer |work=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=Broadway League |access-date=November 8, 2020}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

At age 19, Cryer appeared in the 1984 romantic comedy film ''[[No Small Affair]]'', in the lead role as Charles Cummings, after the original production with Matthew Broderick was shut down when director [[Martin Ritt]] suffered a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]].<ref name="affair">{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?res=9E01E2D9143AF93AA35752C1A962948260|title=Jon Cryer In 'No Small Affair'|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=Janet|last=Maslin|authorlink=Janet Maslin|date=November 9, 1984|access-date=September 14, 2008}}</ref> He went on to appear in small roles in films and television films.

Cryer made his film breakthrough as Philip F. "Duckie" Dale in the [[John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes]]-scripted film ''[[Pretty in Pink]]''.<ref name="duckie">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/08/24/reminiscing-jon-cryer-about-pretty-pink|title=Don't You Forget About Duckie|quote=To mark a new special-edition DVD of "Pretty in Pink", Emmy nominee Jon Cryer chats with Mandi Bierly about the movie's original ending, 'Try a Little Tenderness', and more|first=Mandi|last=Bierly|date=August 23, 2006|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=October 3, 2019}}</ref> In an interview with the ''[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]'', Cryer's mother Gretchen said that after ''Pretty in Pink'', she started getting calls from teenage girls from all over the world, who would leave hysterical, giggling messages on her answering machine.<ref name="E!">{{cite web|title=Jon Cryer: Profile, Latest News and Related Articles |url=http://www.eonline.com/celebrities/profile/index.jsp?uuid=6539c6ba-c9e8-4e14-a903-cb833f854618 |work=Notes |publisher=[[E!]] |access-date=August 22, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725190113/http://www.eonline.com/celebrities/profile/index.jsp?uuid=6539c6ba-c9e8-4e14-a903-cb833f854618 |archive-date=July 25, 2008 }}</ref>

Cryer then starred in the 1987 film ''[[Hiding Out]]'' as a stockbroker on the run from a [[Mafia]] hit man. His mother Gretchen played his aunt. The film broke even, but Cryer's performance as a character who was much older than him was critically acclaimed. In the same year, he played Lenny Luthor, nephew of supervillain [[Lex Luthor (1978 film series character)|Lex Luthor]], in the film ''[[Superman IV: The Quest for Peace]]''. In 1989, he got the lead role in the TV comedy series ''[[The Famous Teddy Z]]''. His performance gained poor reviews<ref name="EW1">{{cite magazine|title=TV Review: 'The Famous Teddy Z'|first=Ken|last=Tucker|authorlink=Ken Tucker|url=https://ew.com/article/1990/05/25/famous-teddy-z|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=May 25, 1990|access-date=October 3, 2019|archive-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210200927/https://ew.com/article/1990/05/25/famous-teddy-z|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the show was canceled after the first season.<ref name="EW1"/>

In 1990, Cryer appeared as Sandy in an [[Off-Broadway]] adaptation of ''[[Carnal Knowledge (film)|Carnal Knowledge]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/6f62046025d71c41478dec394ec5aa8b |title=''Carnal Knowledge'' by Jules Feiffer Opens Off-Broadway |first=Michael|last=Kuchwara |date=November 20, 1990 |work=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=November 8, 2020}}</ref> That same year he appeared alongside future ''Two and a Half Men'' costar [[Charlie Sheen]] in the [[Jim Abrahams]] comedy ''[[Hot Shots!]]'',<ref name="TT" /> which was received very positively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1036179-hot_shots|title=Hot Shots! (1991)|publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=September 13, 2008}}</ref> Cryer is frequently linked to the [[Brat Pack]].<ref name="Brat Pack">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Lurie |first=Karen |title=Brat Pack |encyclopedia=St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_bio/ai_2419200128 |year=2002 |publisher=Gale Group |location=Farmington Hills, Michigan|isbn=1-55862-405-8|access-date=September 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205234422/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_bio/ai_2419200128 |archive-date=December 5, 2008 }}</ref> In a March 2009 interview on [[Anytime with Bob Kushell]], Cryer stated that he had auditioned for ''[[St. Elmo's Fire (film)|St. Elmo's Fire]]'' but was not cast in a role.<ref>{{cite episode|title = Anytime with Bob Kushell feat. Jon Cryer |series= Anytime with Bob Kushell |airdate= March 17, 2009 |season= 2 |number= 1}}</ref> In 1993, he was asked to audition for the role of [[Chandler Bing]] on ''[[Friends]]'', while doing a play in London. His reading was videotaped by a British casting agent but the tape failed to arrive in the U.S. before the network had made its final decision.<ref name="TT">{{cite news|first=Scott|last=Juba|url=http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=4177|publisher=The Trades|title=Interview: Jon Cryer: Failed Friend Who Became a Man|access-date=August 21, 2008|date=March 26, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206003747/http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=4177|archive-date=December 6, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 1995, Cryer was cast as Bob in the sitcom ''[[Partners (1995 TV series)|Partners]]'', which, like his prior show ''The Famous Teddy Z'', was canceled after its first season. In an interview with ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out New York]]'' he stated, "Hey, every show I'm in goes down. Think about this: [[George Clooney]] was in 28 pilots, or something. It means nothing."<ref name="E!" /> After guest starring on shows such as ''[[Dharma & Greg]]'' and ''[[The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'', he wrote, produced and co-starred in the film ''[[Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five]]''. It debuted in 1998 at the [[LA Film Festival|Los Angeles Film Festival]] and gained positive reviews from critics.<ref name="RT1">{{cite web|title=Went to Coney Island on a Mission From God... Be Back By Five (1998)|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/went_to_coney_island_on_a_mission_from_god_be_back_by_five|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=June 22, 2008}}</ref> [[Leonard Maltin]] from ''[[Playboy|Playboy Magazine]]'' called it "a breath of fresh air."<ref name="CoverConeyIsland">{{cite web|url=http://hdmag.cz/files/covers/went-to-coney-island-on-a-mission-from-god-be-back-by-five.jpg|title=The Cover of 'Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five'|publisher=HD Magazine|access-date=June 22, 2008}}</ref> That same year, Cryer landed in another TV series, the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] sitcom ''[[Getting Personal]]'', alongside [[Vivica A. Fox]] and [[Duane Martin]]. Although the show was picked up for a second season after its abbreviated spring run, it was canceled that fall, after airing 17 episodes in total.

In 1999, Cryer appeared as Neal in [[Jeffrey Sweet]]'s play ''Bluff'' at the [[Victory Gardens Theater]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://victorygardens.org/event/bluff |title=''Bluff'' |date=July 23, 2019 |publisher=Victory Gardens Theater |access-date=November 8, 2020}}</ref> In 2000, he was cast as the lead in a comedy series called ''[[The Trouble with Normal (TV series)|The Trouble with Normal]]''. For the third time, Cryer starred in a show which was canceled after its first season.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={5C0E1B12-1F43-4C3D-926A-44A9D14730D2}|title=Sheen and Cryer: Sitcom Survivors|first=Daniel R.|last=Coleridge|date=July 23, 2003|access-date=September 14, 2008|work=[[TV Guide]]}}</ref>