jonathan niven "jon" cryer (born april 16, 1965) is an american actor, screenwriter and film producer. he is the son of david cryer (born 1936) and gretchen cryer (née kiger, born 1935). he played "alan harper" in the sitcom "two and a half men" from 2003-2015. he has won an emmy award and has three emmy nominations for "two and a half men".