Charlie Sheen on “Anger Management.” (Greg Gayne/FX) 
 
 Apparently lost in the massive Sony e-mail hack that wreaked havoc on Hollywood last winter: this e-mail sent to several Sony Pictures Television executives in March 2014: 
 
 “I think I will win the 90/10 bet on the over under on this … it’s hard to to be a drug addict and be HIV positive and do 40 eps a year.” 
 
 Included was a link to a TV Week article about how Charlie Sheen was a no-show on the set of his FX series “Anger Management,” and crew members were so frustrated they were threatening to quit. 
 
 The hacked e-mail amounts to a tasteless joke by an executive, saying that he didn’t expect Sheen to reach the 100-episode mark that would send “Anger Management” into syndication (and create a lucrative windfall for all involved). The 90/10 refers to the “Anger Management” deal that said if 10 episodes did well in the ratings, FX would pick up 90 more. As a reminder, Sheen landed the series, which aired from June 2012 to December 2014, after he imploded and was fired from CBS’s “Two and a Half Men.” The conventional wisdom at the time was that Sheen, known for erratic behavior, would be able to hold it together for 100 “Anger Management” episodes shot in just a couple years. (The show filmed exactly 100 episodes.) 
 
 [Charlie Sheen says he’s HIV-positive, has been extorted for $10 million over diagnosis] 
 
 The e-mail indicates that Sheen’s HIV diagnosis was no secret to some in the entertainment industry. And while Sheen’s announcement that he is HIV-positive (and his claims that he spent $10 million trying to keep it quiet) was a huge story this week, a passing reference to the news was out there for two years for anyone to see, be it publications that initially pored over the documents or anyone who dug into the Wikileaks Sony hack page. And yet the story was never revealed. 
 
 This bit of information gives some context to what Sheen and Matt Lauer talked about when discussing his future career prospects at the end of his “Today” show interview. Sheen’s confident attitude makes sense given that his diagnosis was already known in certain circles. 
 
 “Let me ask you about working and your career,” Lauer said. “You had a show canceled a couple years ago. You are, I imagine in need of working again … how do you think this revelation might impact your status or standing in Hollywood?” 
 
 “As we speak, I have the chairman of Sony excited about doing a show again,” Sheen said. “I have a couple of films lined up that I could, you know, put start dates on. There’s a lot of people that we’ve even told that I’m going to do this [interview] before I came on — privately, of course — and they said, ‘Well, of course… he’s still the best guy for the job.’ ” 
 
 “And so thus far,” Sheen concluded, “there’s been no resistance.” 
 
 Read more: 
 
 Charlie Sheen’s porn star ex is furious after HIV reveal: ‘He never said anything to me.’ 
 
 Jon Cryer is brutally blunt describing the worst Charlie Sheen years on ‘Two and a Half Men’ 
 
 ‘Two and a Half Men’ finally gets revenge on Charlie Sheen with insult-filled series finale ||||| Will we have the first American sitcom with openly HIV-positive star? Charlie Sheen, who yesterday publicly acknowledged his condition following a National Enquirer report, had been looking to topline another primetime comedy series. In the weeks leading to the admission, Sheen had been actively meeting with producers about developing a new half-hour starring vehicle for him. I hear among those Sheen reached out to and had meetings with were CBS TV Studios-based Eric Tannenbaum, who executive produced Sheen’s hugely successful CBS sitcom Two And A Half Men as well as executives from Sony Pictures TV. I hear nothing came out of the sit-downs, and there is no Sheen series set up at the moment. 
 
 During the Today interview yesterday, Sheen indicated that he has major projects in the hopper, including several features, and was confident that his HIV-positive status will not have an impact on his career. He pointed to his talks at Sony TV, noting that chairman Steve Mosko was “excited about doing a show again” with him. “Thus far, there’s been no resistance,” Sheen said. It is yet to be seen whether any potential lawsuits by sexual partners from the four years he had kept his condition a secret would change that. 
 
 Sheen had been HIV-positive during the entire run of his previous sitcom, Anger Management. According to his own account, he was diagnosed in 2011, around the time he was pitching the project. It is unclear whether the actor revealed his condition to Lionsgate TV/Debmar-Mercury, which signed on to produce the show, and FX, which picked it up to series. Sources indicate that many if not all cast and crew members on the show were not aware Sheen was HIV-positive, at least not in the beginning. According to tabloid reports, Sheen’s colleagues became suspicious when production was shut down multiple times over the star’s health problems. A leaked email from the Sony hack indicates that top Sony TV executives and likely other industry types outside the studio were aware of the actor’s condition by early 2014. 
 
 Still, despite his 2011 public meltdown that led to his firing from 2.5 Men and heavy drug and alcohol abuse to which Sheen has confessed, most recently in the Today interview, he was able to complete 100 episodes of Anger Management in 2.5 years and is looking for a follow-up series. That would be his fourth sitcom, following Spin City, 2.5 Men and Anger Management. ||||| Get the latest from TODAY Sign up for our newsletter 
 
 / Updated / Source: & Other Stories By Eun Kyung Kim 
 
 Charlie Sheen revealed he is HIV positive Tuesday in an exclusive TODAY interview with Matt Lauer. 
 
 “It’s a hard three letters to absorb. It’s a turning point in one’s life,” the 50-year-old actor said. 
 
 Sheen said he made the announcement to end a smear campaign and extortion efforts. 
 
 “I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths and very harmful and mercurial stories that are about me, threatening the health of so many others that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. 
 
 READ: Charlie Sheen pens an open letter about his HIV-positive diagnosis 
 
 Sheen said he’s trusted the diagnosis with people he thought he could confide in, but has paid out upwards of $10 million to keep the illness a secret. 
 
 “What people forget is that that's money they're taking from my children,” he said about the “shakedowns” he has experienced. “I trusted them and they were deep in my inner circle, and I thought they could be helpful. My trust turned to their treason.” 
 
 He said appearing on TODAY will help put a stop to those payouts. 
 
 “That’s my goal. That’s not my only goal. I think I release myself from this prison today,” he said. 
 
 Sheen said he was diagnosed roughly four years ago, but doesn’t know how he contracted the virus. 
 
 “It started with what I thought was a series of crushing headaches,” he said. “I thought I had a brain tumor. I thought it was over.” 
 
 He also insisted it was “impossible” that he knowingly transmitted the virus to others. While he admitted to having unprotected sex with two people since the diagnosis, both were informed ahead of time and have been under the care of his doctor. But Sheen dismissed the idea that he engaged in high-risk behaviors. 
 
 "You're talking about needles and that whole mess? No, definitely not," he said. 
 
 HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS, which has no cure. But “Charlie does not have AIDS,” said the actor’s physician, Dr. Robert Huizenga, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. 
 
 While an HIV-positive diagnosis used to be considered a death sentence, and there still is no cure, medical advancements have helped turn it into a manageable illness. However, antiviral drugs must be taken for a lifetime. 
 
 Sheen revealed he takes four pills every day, and his doctor said the main battle facing the actor is not related to HIV, but relapsing into substance abuse problems or entering into depression related to his diagnosis. 
 
 “We’re petrified about Charlie. We’re so, so anxious that if he was overly depressed, if he was abusing substance, he would forget these pills and that’s been an incredible worry,” he said. However, he said Sheen has been vigilant about his regimen. 
 
 “Magically, somehow in the midst of incredible personal mayhem, he’s managed to continue to take these medications,” Huizenga said. 
 
 Matt Lauer interviews Charlie Sheen in a TODAY Show exclusive interview. Samantha Okazaki 
 
 Sheen said he hopes by going public with the diagnosis, it will help dispel the stigma of HIV. 
 
 “I have a responsibility now to better myself and to help a lot of other people and hopefully with what we’re doing today others will come forward and say, 'Thanks, Charlie,'” he said. 
 
 READ MORE: What Charlie Sheen's HIV announcement means for his health 
 
 Sheen said he told ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller about the diagnosis when he found out. He also shared the news recently with his oldest daughter. 
 
 “It hit her hard, but she recovered. She’s tough like her dad,” he said. 
 
 “I said, ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but it didn’t seem like you could do anything for me and I didn’t want to burden you with all the stress.’ But she was a rock star about it.” 
 
 Sheen's personal announcement Tuesday renewed a spotlight on Sheen’s troubled history with drug addiction, pornography and prostitutes. 
 
 Charlie Sheen and ex-girlfriend Bree Olson on the red carpet in 2011. Daniel Boczarski / Getty Images Contributor 
 
 Sheen rose to become one of Hollywood’s best-known actors through a series of memorable movie roles including "Wall Street" and "Red Dawn." In more recent years, however, his public persona was shaped by a public meltdown during his 2011 feud with the creator of “Two and a Half Men,” the television series that helped him become the highest-paid television actor at the time. In the end, Sheen was fired from the show. 
 
 He told Lauer that his behavior at the time had little to do with his diagnosis. 
 
 “I wish I could blame it on that,” he said. “That was more of a (ste)roid rage. This was on the heels of that.” 
 
 Sheen admitted that period was not one he looks back fondly on. 
 
 “There’s a lot out there I’m not proud of. You can only hear ‘winning’ in the streets so many times,” he said. “I’ve pissed off a lot of really good opportunities.” 
 
 WATCH: Sheen reveals, 'I'm HIV positive,' paid many who threatened to expose me 
 
 But he said he’s entering a more thoughtful and reflective phase in his life. 
 
 “I’m approaching a time of more of a philanthropic approach in my life,” he said. He admitted that paying off people to keep quiet about his condition, as well as other factors, has hurt his bank account. 
 
 “It’s not great. It will be great again. I’m a survivor. I’ve been up, I’ve been down, I’ve been rich, I’ve been poor,” he said. “It’s another chapter in my life but it’s not commerce driven. It’s socially driven.” 
 
 Charlie Sheen talks about his HIV-positive diagnosis with Matt Lauer. TODAY 
 
 He said he doubts his HIV positive status will have an impact on his future career, pointing out a conversation he is having with the chairman of Sony, who he said is “excited about doing a show again.” 
 
 He also said he has several films lined up. 
 
 “Thus far, there’s been no resistance,” he said. 
 
 Sheen wouldn’t predict how the general media will respond to his interview, but expected his comments at least will dispel some of the myths written about him. 
 
 “I would have faith that it will be a lot more forgiving and a lot more supportive than some of the garbage I was reading in the last couple of days. Frankly, I don’t think it can get worse that that,” he said about tabloid stories that insisted he was intentionally infecting others with HIV. “I just thought, ‘Wow. Damn. That’s just as far from the truth as anything could be.' They’re going to reveal a whole lot of proof because it’s just not there. It does not exist.” 
 
 After hearing some of the encouraging reaction people on social media have had to his announcement, Sheen said he’d gladly “ride this wave of support.” 
 
 “If there was one guy on this planet to contract this that’s going to deliver a cure, it’s me. It’s me. Seriously,” he said. 
 
 “I’m not going to be the poster man for this, but I will not shun away from responsibilities and opportunities that drive me to helping others.”
– Charlie Sheen's HIV diagnosis was joked about in an email exposed, but never publicized, during last year's Sony hack, the Washington Post reports. The email from a Sony exec was joking about the fact that Sheen wasn't showing up to work on Anger Management, his FX series. "I think I will win the 90/10 bet on the over under on this … it's hard to to be a drug addict and be HIV positive and do 40 eps a year," the email reads. It's always been available on the Wikileaks Sony hack page, but hadn't been released to the larger public until now. The email was referring to a deal that stated if 10 episodes performed well, FX would order 90 more; the series, which premiered in June 2012 and ended in December 2014, was supposed to film 100 episodes in two years, enough to send it into syndication—and it did end up filming exactly that many. As the Post notes, the email illustrates the fact that some in the industry were very much aware of Sheen's diagnosis before he revealed it publicly. Deadline notes that Sheen is currently looking to do another TV series.