Half a man, but a wholly different child star

To underscore the point: Angus T. Jones, the “half’’ in the No. 1 comedy on TV, “Two and a Half Men,’’ doesn’t even know if he wants to continue to hone the skill that’s made him a millionaire when the seven-year-old CBS sitcom goes off the air. He’s a 16-year-old high school sophomore who wants to go to college, and that’s as far as his plans go.

“I don’t know what I’m going to take or where I’m going to go,’’ he said. “I’m not really sure. I don’t really know if I want to do acting as a career. I really don’t know what I want to do yet.’’

But what does he say to those legions of young actors who study, worry, and undoubtedly envy him?

“I’m sorry?’’ Jones replied sweetly, his shoulders shrugging as his eyes melted into his signature broad grin. “It’s always come naturally to me, but I don’t know if I want to do this as a career.’’

He was 9 when he landed the part of the underachieving, dimwitted boy whose father (Jon Cryer) moves in with his womanizing, alcohol-loving brother (Charlie Sheen) after a divorce. Taken by his performance in “The Rookie,’’ co-creator Chuck Lorre asked Jones to audition for the often-racy sitcom, which airs Monday nights, and never tested another boy.

“He’s just a very intuitive and instinctive actor,’’ Lorre said. “Even as a little boy, he was at ease and at peace with himself so he could find the moments with a little bit of direction. . . . You never see Angus acting. He really embodies the moment.’’

Born in Austin, Texas, Jones moved with his parents to Los Angeles when he was 4 because of his father’s job.

Although he never expressed interest in performing, his mother noticed the way people gravitated toward her little boy and decided to take him to commercial auditions, figuring that with any luck, he would at least earn money for college tuition. It wasn’t long before Jones was taping ads and an agent signed him. By the time he was 6, he was hired for his first film, “See Spot Run.’’

When casting agents called on behalf of Lorre, Jones had no idea what a sitcom was, let alone what show he was trying out for. That might explain his laid-back delivery, which has always made Jake come across as a real boy instead of the precocious, cutesy child found on most sitcoms.

Seven years later, earning a reported $1.2 million per season - a salary that doesn’t include what he makes from “Men’’ also being the No. 1 show in syndication - Jones could probably afford to send his entire class to college.

Jones’s laughter on set is always endearing, said Sheen, who hit it off with the boy when they auditioned in front of CBS executives together.

“Early on, he would smile a lot at the end of the joke so they’d always have to cut around that,’’ Sheen said. “Which was funny to me because he was so young. Did he really understand the joke he was telling or the joke that’s being spoken around him?’’

Shy, introspective, and polite, Jones has never asked his producers and castmates to explain the show’s suggestive innuendo or dirty jokes - a point of contention with some critics who believe that a show with a child as the third lead shouldn’t go as far as it goes. Charlie Harper is a carefree bachelor with a healthy libido and a lengthy black book (though now he’s engaged). Alan Harper isn’t as lucky with the ladies, but it’s not for a lack of trying.

“Angus has never expressed curiosity to me about the many jokes we’ve made that are clearly off color,’’ Cryer said. “Originally, we’d look at his mom and go, ‘Eek! Sorry!’ And she would say, ‘Don’t worry about it!’ At one point I asked him if he wanted to know and he said no. He doesn’t bring it up with me. He’s not like a lot of boys.’’

Or a lot of child actors. Jones avoids the limelight, preferring his family’s Texas ranch to Hollywood glitz. When the show is on hiatus (one week out of the month and two months in the summer), he attends a regular high school and spends his free time studying, playing the guitar, and taking care of his 2-year-old brother and new puppy.

“There’s no showbiz kid stuff going on,’’ said Lorre. “He’s so much more evolved than that. One of the great joys of being on this show for me has been the ability to watch this young boy grow up. He’s becoming a young man now, and he’s doing it with such grace and dignity.’’