Ashton Kutcher Cleans Up His Act

Ashton Kutcher, 33, has a new look after shaving his beard, moustache, and sideburns and trimming his long locks. The "Two and a Half Men" star debuted the clean-cut style at the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday.

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The change could be seen as a fresh start for a guy who didn't exactly have the best 2011: he and wife Demi Moore split in November after his highly-publicized fling with another woman, then he drastically reduced his presence on Twitter after tweeting about the firing of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno without knowing all the details, which caused quite the backlash among his followers.

One good thing that happened for the "Punk'd" creator was his casting in the hit CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men," which explains why he was willing to cut his mane. See, Ashton admitted at a TCA press event that the new 'do was part of the plot in the episode airing January 16. "[The writers] wrote a screenplay that dictated I cut my hair and shaved my beard," he explained. "Watch on Monday, it's a real good show." The synopsis for the half-hour, according to the website, is that Zooey tries to convince Walden (played by Kutcher) to cut his hair and shave. I don't want to spoil too much, but I think she succeeds!

Although the new look wasn't Ashton's choice, I think it's a good one for him. It reminds me of a time way back in the early 2000s when Ashton was the cute, funny guy we watched on TV (remember "That 70's Show"?) and not the known philanderer he is today. But maybe that's just me. What do you think?