Is it fair that one of Hollywood's most successful and richest young actors didn't set out to be a performer - in fact, never took an acting class?

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 7-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, his shoulders shrugging as his eyes melt into his signature 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 as Dennis Quaid's son on "The Rookie," co-creator Chuck Lorre asked Jones to audition for the often-racy sitcom 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, Angus' family moved 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. It wasn't long before Angus was taping Oscar Mayer wiener ads and an agent signed him. By the time he was 6, he was hired for his first film, "See Spot Run."

When casting 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 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 - Angus could probably send his entire class to college.

CBS has renewed "Men" for two more seasons, coinciding with the young star's high school graduation. Lorre has long said the show would likely end when Jake goes to college. But fans of the show know well that it's highly unlikely Jake (poor Jake!) will seek higher education.

"If Jake goes to college, it's going to be community college, and he's going to be living at home," Aronsohn half-joked.

What then? Does the show become "Three Men?"

"No, it's always going to be called 'Two and a Half Men,'" he said. "But the character who is the half may change."