Jon Cryer and Demi Moore costarred in 1984’s “No Small Affair,” and for a brief period of time, their professional relationship turned romantic too. Cryer admitted he was “blissfully unaware” that his ex strugglee with addiction during their time together in an interview with People published Saturday.
“We dated for a short time while we were working on ‘No Small Affair,’ but I guess our particular affair was, in fact, pretty small,” he explained. “She was already struggling with a drug problem. One that I was blissfully unaware of until a couple of weeks before the movie ended.”
Cryer also recalled that unlike himself, Moore was a lot more sure-footed in Hollywood. Cryer spoke with the outlet promoting the new documentary “Brats,” which explores the world of the 1980s “Brat Pack” actors.
“She was incredibly charismatic and had a much better grasp of the business than I did. She knew everyone in town, but we were both really nervous about being leads in a movie for the first time,” he said.
Moore would go on to star in 1985’s “St. Elmo’s Fire,” which proved to be her biggest film to date, before she checked herself into rehab. Joel Schumacher, who directed the movie, told the actress he would fire her if she didn’t get clean. Schumacher was speaking from a place of experience and previously overcame his own battle against substance abuse.
“I told her I was firing her,” Schumacher told People in 1997. “I didn’t want to do what they had done with John Belushi, which was just give her the money to kill herself.”
His help didn’t end once Moore began rehab. “When she came out, we hired a counselor to live with Demi during filming,” he added. “She’s been sober ever since.”
Moore revisited her relationship with Cryer in her 2019 memoir “Inside Out.” The actress wrote that she believed she was the first person Cryer had sex with — something he disputed weeks later.
He tweeted, “Well, the good thing about this is she doesn’t have to feel bad about it anymore, because while I’m sure she was totally justified making that assumption based on my my skill level (and the stunned look on my face at the time), I had actually lost my virginity in high school.”
“But she’s right [about] the other part, I was over the moon for her during a very troubled time in her life. I have nothing but affection for her and not a regret in the world,” Cryer added.
