Jon Cryer Is 'Hopeful' for Charlie Sheen After His Costar Was Bent on 'Blowing Up His Life' (Exclusive)

As his 'Two and a Half Men' costar reconciles with creator Chuck Lorre, Cryer tells PEOPLE: "I'm really hopeful that he can find happiness and forgive himself ... they had been really good friends"

While Jon Cryer's time shooting Two and a Half Men with Charlie Sheen may have ended on a rocky note, the actor only has supportive words for his costar nowadays.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Cryer, 58, discusses his former costar's reconciliation with Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre.

“[Charlie's] doing better now, and I am glad for that, and I'm really glad that he and Chuck have reconciled,” he says. “I don't have any anger toward him anymore, because the show took the rabbit hook, and it's exasperating dealing with somebody who insists on blowing up their own life."

"But I'm really hopeful that he can find happiness and forgive himself, because I think that's the biggest thing is if he can forgive himself and really move on," he adds.

Related: How Two and a Half Men Creator Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen Ended Their 12-Year Feud: 'It Was Healing'

Cryer and Sheen, 58, starred together on Two and a Half Men for eight seasons before Sheen was fired from the CBS sitcom and replaced by Ashton Kutcher. At the time, Sheen was struggling with his drug and alcohol addiction and targeted Lorre in 2011 in a series of rants where he called him a “clown,” “a stupid, stupid man” and hurled anti-semitic insults.

“There was never a rage on Chuck's part that Charlie was doing the things that he was doing,” Cryer explains. “It was just sadness, because they were friends and he was sad that their friendship had taken this turn.”

Despite the broken bridges, when Lorre, 71, and his Bookie co-creator Nick Bakay needed to cast “a real-life Hollywood star” to play a high roller, the writer told Variety he immediately thought of Sheen.

Related: Charlie Sheen Says His Return to TV After 'Possession' Is 'Surreal': 'Do You Believe in Miracles?' (Exclusive)

“It should be Charlie,” Lorre told Variety. “I remember Charlie was very much engaged in sports betting and he would tell me stories about it all the time. You know, when things were good.”

Despite Lorre's apprehension, the two quickly picked up right where they left off once Sheen was onboard, with Sheen recently telling PEOPLE he and Lorre found themselves downright "beaming" when they reunited.

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Cryer, for his part, said Lorre was delighted about the reunion.

“I had a very short conversation with Chuck about the fact that they [he and Charlie] had reconciled,” recalls Cryer, adding that Lorre “was just astonished and happy, because they had been really good friends before the breakdown, and he was really happy that he could reestablish that.”

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