Eddie Van Halen delivered what Charlie Sheen described as his own “short, private concert” during a memorable cameo on the sitcom Two and a Half Men.
The legendary guitarist’s appearance in the seventh season premiere has resurfaced in recent interviews, with Sheen sharing intimate details about witnessing Van Halen’s iconic performance up close.
The scene featured Van Halen emerging from a toilet stall before launching into the opening section of “Eruption”, his groundbreaking guitar solo. During the sequence, Eddie delivered the improvised line about always carrying his instrument because “you never know when inspiration might strike,” then playfully renamed the solo “Two Burritos and a Root Beer Float”.
Sheen revealed that Van Halen’s dialogue change occurred during a table read, something typically discouraged in Hollywood productions. “He made a change in one of the lines of dialogue, and you’re not supposed to do that in that kind of environment, especially on that show,” Sheen explained to Loudwire (as per Louder Sound). “His change was brilliant!”
The actor’s proximity to Van Halen during filming created an unforgettable experience. “Then he plays that amazing lead, just shredding, and I’m, like, two feet away from him,” Sheen continued. “I mean, can you get a better private – short, private concert with Van Halen, anywhere, ever?”
The production required five takes of Van Halen’s performance, much to Sheen’s delight. “They did five takes of it, and I’m like, ‘Are you sure we don’t need a sixth?'” he recalled. The actor jokingly lamented that Van Halen’s original concept would have featured the complete “Eruption” solo, which would have provided an even more extensive private performance.
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“His idea […] was ‘Eruption’. And that would have meant that I would have been front row, the only row, for a live ‘Eruption’,” Sheen noted. “It was just the beginning of the piece, so that was taken from me.”
