Charlie Sheen Says Ashton Kutcher Saved His Career

He’s probably the last person he should be thankful to, but Charlie Sheen doesn’t discriminate. In a new statement to TMZ, the actor says he’s happy Ashton Kutcher replaced him on “Two and a Half Men” because it saved his career.

Fans of the popular show must know that Kutcher was brought on board after the very public and very nasty scandal that ended in Sheen’s departure from the show.

Though it could have been any other actor, Sheen says he’s partial to Kutcher that he accepted the offer to be on “Men” because, this way, he (Sheen) gets to kick-start his career with a brand new show, TMZ reports.

“Charlie Sheen is extremely grateful that Ashton Kutcher replaced him on ‘Two and a Half Men’ – telling TMZ, if Ashton hadn’t taken his old spot... Charlie would never have been able to kick-start his career,” the e-zine writes after talking to the controversial actor.

He’s referring to his brand new show, which is currently in pre-production, based on the hit comedy “Anger Management” with Jack Nicholson, and which is believed to air as early as January 2012.

The fact that producers and writers chose to kill of his character on “Men” and hold his funeral in the first episode of the new season only makes matters better, Sheen says for TMZ.

“I have always been told that I have 9 lives, so it is going to be amazing to witness my own funeral which is clearly a win/win situation because Ashton has just given me a 10th,” Sheen explains.

As we also informed you over the weekend, Sheen’s character, Charlie Harper, is believed to die a very gruesome and bloody death on “Men,” which is series’ creator Chuck Lorre’s way of making sure he can never come back.

Sheen has also told TMZ just recently that he plans to watch the season premiere of the sitcom, when it airs in September.

At the same time, Kutcher tells Parade that he got Sheen’s blessing for the part, via Twitter, though they never met face to face.