Chuck Lorre on How He Patched Things Up with Charlie Sheen: ‘We Were Friends Once’ (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comMichael Schneider Variety Editor at Large As they were writing the pilot script for their new Max comedy series “Bookie,” co-creators Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay thought it would be fun to add a real-life Hollywood star playing a version of themself as an inveterate gambler.
The series stars stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco as Los Angeles sports betting bookie, so it made sense that his character might run into a few high-roller celebrities during his travels.
In early drafts of that Lorre and Bakay script, the character was left as a “TBD” — to be determined. But Lorre couldn’t shake an idea he had for who might be perfect for the role: “It should be Charlie,” he tells Variety. “I remember Charlie was very much engaged in in sports betting and he would tell me stories about it all the time.
You know, when things were good.” That’s “Charlie” as in Charlie Sheen — and casting him on “Bookie” (which premieres Nov. 30 on Max) was an idea that came loaded with baggage.
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