Two and a Half Men Casting: Kathy Bates to Guest Star as…Charlie Sheen?!

Harry's Law star is set to play the ghost of Sheen's character on an upcoming episode of the CBS hit series

By Tierney Bricker Mar 20, 2012 12:04 AMTags
Charlie Sheen, Kathy BatesGetty Images/WireImage

Charlie Sheen is returning to Two and a Half Men…kind of!

Sheen's character Charlie Harper, who died off-screen in the beginning of this season of the CBS comedy, is returning to pay his brother Alan (Jon Cryer) a visit after he lands in the hospital. Of course, given Sheen's less-than-ideal parting with the series, there's a twist: he's not playing the character, Kathy Bates is!

Yes, really! So how is this gender-bending casting switcharoo going down?

It's a ghost invasion!

The Harry's Law actress is set to guest star as Charlie Harper on the April 30 episode of Two and a Half Men. The catch? She's playing the ghost of Charlie who returns in the form of Bates to visit Alan after he suffers a minor heart attack and lands in the hospital. 

While this does seem to be one pretty random casting choice, there is a connection between Bates and Two and a Half Men: Harry's Law and the CBS sitcom are both produced by Warner Bros. Sure, it's a stretch, but it's still a connection.

We're sure Sheen isn't sweating this casting coup too much: he's busy filming his new series Anger Management for FX.

This will be Alan's second trip to the hospital this season: he ended up in a mental institution alongside Gary Busey after having a mental breakdown. 

What do you think of this casting news? Are you excited to see Bates play Charlie Harper? Sound off in the comments!

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