Charlie Sheen has been praised as likeable and smart.

While the 'Anger Management' actor has a reputation as a hellraiser thanks to his past which has included hiring prostitutes and taking drugs, his former 'Two and a Half Men' co-star Holland Taylor has nothing but praise for the 47-year-old star.

She told Parade magazine: ''Anybody who's spent time with Charlie likes him. He's as smart a person as you'll ever find.''

Charlie was memorably fired from 'Two and a Half Men' over his erratic antics, which included partying with prostitutes and blasting the show's creator Chuck Lorre, but Holland, 70, believes Charlie's upbringing and early fame is responsible for his meltdown.

She explained: ''He grew up with a movie star father [Martin Sheen] who was gallivanting around the world. [Today] Martin is a big AA [Alcoholics Anonymous]person and very public about it. But back in the day, Martin was a young, crazy, brilliant talent--always gone, sometimes bringing his kids along.''

''It was just a madhouse way [for Charlie] to grow up. And then Charlie himself was a teenage movie star with hundreds of thousands of dollars in his pocket at any given moment. It sounds great to a lot of people, but it's not that easy to mature and to have a regular life.''