Hugh Grant Pulls Out Of Talks To Replace Charlie Sheen

If you thought Hugh Grant's negotiations with CBS meant it was time to table all that rampant speculation about who will replace Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men, think again.

After Sheen's embittered public battle with the show's producers, it's become pretty clear that he will not return to the sitcom. Grant's name had been passed around as a possible replacement, and the British movie star was "progressing" in negotiations with the network and Warner Brothers when he backed out at the eleventh hour, reports Deadline.

Grant was just shy of signing the contract, which was rumored to lock in an offer of over $1 million an episode for the movie star, when he felt that "creative differences" prevented him from signing on the dotted line.

"It was not the money," an insider said. "He didn't want to do TV because those 24 episodes are a grind and a lot of work. At the end he couldn't get his head around doing a series."

So it's back to the drawing board for Warner Bros. and CBS. Other names still being bounced around include Jeremy Piven of Entourage and Jerry O'Connell of Sliders. —KIMBERLY STEELE