What It Was Like Being Ashton Kutcher's Twin

Diagnosed at birth with cerebral palsy, Michael tells the new issue of Details, "there was a lot of teasing, a lot of the normal mean stuff."

Adds Michael (who still lives in Iowa, selling retirement plans), "I was the kid with the big Coke-bottle glasses, the hearing aid."

Even Ashton admits "a big part of my life [was] kind of looking out for my twin."

The experience helped give the actor an "understanding of what it's like to be the other guy," his pal and business partner, Jason Goldberg, says. "That's a big strength of his."

Ashton says his life is also shaped by his wife Demi Moore.

After dating Brittany Murphy and January Jones, Ashton says Moore "was the first person who would call me on my s--t.

"She didn't need me," he adds. "She straight up didn't need me. She wanted me, but she didn't need me, so she could put it on the line."

Ashton says he quickly got over any issues he had with her close relationship with her ex, Bruce Willis.

"You walk into a relationship and there's always jealousies, like, 'Oh, the other guy'... and, in this case, the other guy is Bruce Willis!

"But my wife's a smart individual, one of the smartest people I know," he says. "If she likes and respects this person, then I think I can get over my jealousy."

The actor and Punk'd producer also downplays the role of Kabbalah in his life, even though Moore is a famous follower.

"I'll use whatever works," Ashton says. "I'm not a follower of this or that religious leader. More wars are started because of religious leaders, and people are following and they don’t know why... That is religiosity. That is
what turns people into robots."

2867 hcarroll Published 4/14/08   Message Add to Friends