Melanie Lynskey set the record straight on her Two and a Half Men paycheck after claims she made an "insane" $200,000 per episode.
The actress, 49, played Rose, the neighbor of Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer) on the CBS sitcom from 2003 to 2015, but revealed she made far less than claimed by a user on Instagram.
"Hey! Sorry, but this insane number is floating around on the internet and I must tell you how wrong it is," she replied to a fan comment on a video of Holland Taylor discussing her time on the show.
"I only did 63 out of 262 episodes of that show. I made literally one tenth of that stated number per episode," she continued, revealing she made $20,000 per episode, with a five percent raise each season.
© Getty Images"But more than half of the episodes I did were in the first two seasons," she went on. "The highest paycheck I got on the show was I think $43,000 for one episode in the final season.
"This is before agents, managers, business managers cuts, and taxes, so you take home around 50% of what you are paid."
Melanie admitted that while her salary wasn't as high as reported, it was "huge" for her at the time and more than enough to keep her comfortable when she began on the show at 25.
© Getty Images"I was extremely grateful for the job and for the money," she explained. "It allowed me to pay my small mortgage and pay bills and be able to work in indie movies and build a career.
"But there is this insane idea that I made millions of dollars and it's so ridiculous."
She continued: "I will say that that money was huge for me!! I was 25 years old when I got that job, and a couple of years in I was able to put a down payment on a house.
© Getty Images"I always think in terms of how lucky I am compared to the vast majority of actors because it is so, so hard to make a living. I had struggled so much at that point so I was very grateful."
She concluded: "It wasn't my show and I felt fine with what I was paid- I just get annoyed when it's misreported."
The topic of Melanie's paycheck came up when a user pointed out how little Holland Taylor, who played Charlie and Alan's mom, Evelyn, was paid for the show compared to the other cast's reported salaries.
© Getty Images"They never paid me very well on that show. I was paid on that show what I had made on a series like eight years before or something," Taylor said in an Instagram clip of her recent appearance on the Alchemy with Anthony Mason.
"And I got four Emmy nominations and they never gave me a raise. They usually do," she added.
Melanie admitted that if Holland was talking about her salary, then "I'll talk about it too," adding: "Also Holland is and was a legend and a queen and deserved many raises!!!!"
