Two and a Half Men is the story of Charlie, Alan, and Jake, who all live in a house and couldn’t be more different. Another character in the house is Berta, without whom you can’t imagine it all. However, she was originally only intended for two episodes.
What was the original plan for Berta? In a 2014 interview, Conchata Ferrell, who portrayed Berta, spoke with The A.V. Club about how she ended up getting the role. She shares how she was actually supposed to audition with an Eastern European accent.
During the audition, however, she said she would like to play the role without an accent. Chuck Lorre, the creator of Two and a Half Men, reportedly just laughed and allowed her to do so. Of the 32 women who auditioned, by her own account, she was chosen. Lorre developed the character further based on Ferrell’s performance and turned her into an old hippie.
The original plan for the character Berta was that she would leave the house after two episodes because Alan and Jake were moving in. But the grumpy housekeeper was so good that we got to see her for a full twelve seasons.
Even after the unpleasant departure of Charlie Sheen, you could see her as Bertha:
From a brief guest to a relevant supporting character
Ferrell explains in the interview how she went home after filming her second episode and told her husband: Boy, I hope they think what I think, because I really fit in there.
She was then called to do more episodes. By the second season, she became a regular supporting character of the series because she fit into the concept of the show as Berta and impressed everyone. She herself liked the character a lot because Berta had the courage to do things she wouldn’t do herself. She also spoke positively about the relationship between Bertha and Charlie in the series.
And I really enjoyed working for him. I liked his lifestyle, I liked the fact that he lived the way he lived, and he said what he said, and he did what he did. I liked him because he was a more stylish version of me, I thought.
Conchata Ferrell about the relationship of Bertha and Charlie in the series (Source: The A.V. Club)
Even after Charlie Sheen’s departure, Berta was still around. From the 9th season onward, she became the housekeeper of Walden Schmidt, played by Ashton Kutcher.
What does Conchata Ferrell think of Ashton Kutcher? In the interview, she is also asked about the then-current status of the series. She states that Ashton Kutcher saved the show and that everyone was still working because of Kutcher. She describes the seasons as a completely different show
, which she enjoyed. Before Kutcher got the role, there was another desired candidate: Two and a Half Men: An actor was supposed to receive over €650,000 per episode, but he declined
