Actor Charlie Sheen enters rehab

LOS ANGELES, Feb 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Actor Charlie Sheen has entered a rehabilitation facility and plans to take time off his hit comedy series "Two and a Half Men" on U.S. network CBS, his spokesman said on Tuesday.

Sheen, 44, was charged earlier this month with assaulting and threatening his wife in a heated Christmas Day argument in Aspen, Colorado. Both had reportedly been drinking. Sheen is free on bail pending a further hearing on March 15.

"As a preventative measure, Charlie Sheen has entered a rehabilitation facility. He will take some time off from his series ‘Two and a Half Men’. He has asked that his privacy be honored. No further statements are planned," publicist Stan Rosenfield said in a statement.

It was not clear what sort of treatment Sheen was seeking, and Rosenfield was not immediately available for comment.

Sheen’s wife, Brooke Mueller, has also been in a rehab facility for the past few days in the Los Angeles area, according to several news reports. Mueller, 32, is said to be undergoing treatment for substance abuse.

Sheen, who plays a womanizing bachelor in the top-rated TV comedy "Two and a Half Men" was arrested on Dec. 25 in Aspen after Mueller called police and told them he pulled a knife on her during an argument and threatened to have her killed. Celebrity news website TMZ.com has said that both had been drinking, according to alcohol tests.

The actor has not formally entered a plea and could face up to three years behind bars if convicted. He has continued work on his TV show in Los Angeles, until now.

Sheen married Mueller — his third wife — in 2008 and they have infant twin sons. Mueller has said she wants the case dropped, and the couple have sought to reconcile.

The actor, whose film credits include "Platoon" and "Wall Street", has previously been accused of violence. He pleaded no contest to a 1997 battery charge on his then girlfriend, and in 2006 his second wife, Denise Richards, obtained a restraining order against him.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Sandra Maler)