Actor Ashton Kutcher thought ‘he won the lotto’ when he landed the job vacated by troubled actor Charlie Sheen on “Two and a Half Men” and his ‘winnings’ may not as quick-easy as it seems having bagged the job shortly after his name popped up on the list in such a short notice.

It was indeed a very short notice since he inked the deal less than a week after his name surfaced on countless news reports : one day he is being eyed for the job and the next, he got the job.

Ashton Kutcher came out from a long list of talented actors considered for the job. The first three men to be considered for “Men” include Matt Dillon, John Stamos and Rob Lowe.

There were never official reactions from Matt Dillon’s Camp. John Stamos preferred to replace Charlie as Martin Sheen’s son not as Charlie Harper on “Men” and Rob Lowe may have Charlie Sheen’s approval and blessings, but he is tied down to CBS’s rival, NBC for its show, “Parks and Recreation”.

Read IBTimes Full Report:
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Charlie Sheen thumbs up for Rob Lowe as his replacement

Then came Bob Saget and Jeremy Piven as other men being eyed to replace Charlie. Only Jeremy, himself did not know about it, said his publicist.

Read IBTimes Full Report:
Jeremy Piven rumored to replace Charlie Sheen on “Men”

So there were no men to replace Charlie Sheen but Charlie himself.

In his last few live shows, “Violent Torpedo of Truth: Defeat is Not an Option”, Sheen was changing tunes every now and then when asked about possible returns to the CBS show.

In one show he was saying he had been having talks with the bosses, which was strongly denied by his former bosses. In another stop Sheen reiterated the lawsuit was on and in most recent ones, he was practically begging for his bosses to take him back when he said that he would apologize to his bosses if they all sit down on the negotiating table. But Charlie was never invited back to another talk. The court assigned an arbitrator on his $100M lawsuit against CBS Chuck Lorre instead. And the case continues.

Read IBTimes Full Report:
Producers officially fired Charlie Sheen today

Then almost three months after Sheen was fired by Warner Bros. from “Men”, British actor Hugh Grant was reported close to finalizing the deal. But the Notting Hill actor just backed out at the last minute, according to a source.

"He got cold feet at the last minute," says an insider according to TVGuide.com

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Hugh Grant wooed as possible Sheen replacement

And then there was Ashton. The sun and the moon were on his side. He was in Chuck Lorre’s shortlist but he was never considered very seriously until last week. And he got the job, the same week he sat on the table with CBS execs to discuss replacing Charlie.

Ashton Kutcher inked the deal with $650,000 to $700,000 fee per episode. Charlie's fee at $1.3 million per episode at the time he was fired. It may be half of Charlie's fee, but a regular job on "Men" is like winning a lotto, alright.

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