Erik Per Sullivan rejects ‘buckets of money’ for ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ reboot and it makes sense
'Malcolm In The Middle' originally premiered on January 9, 2000, and ran for a total of seven seasons untill May 14, 2006. Despite concluding almost two decades ago, the enduring popularity of the show prompted Fox to greenlight an official reboot titled 'Malcolm In The Middle: Life's Still Unfair'. The four-part reboot is scheduled to premiere on April 10 on Hulu and Disney+. Almost the entire cast of the original show is returning for the reboot, except one integral character, who had to be recast.
Frankie Muniz returns to play the titular character, with Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek playing his parents, Hal and Lois, respectively. Chris Masterson will once again appear as Malcolm's older brother, Francis, and Justin Berfield will portray his brother, Reese. In terms of the plot, the upcoming reboot will see Malcolm in his adult years as he now has a daughter to raise. Regardless of the nostalgic reunion, Erik Per Sullivan, who portrayed Malcolm's younger brother, Dewey, will not be seen in the upcoming reboot. In an interview with The Guardian, Kaczmarek revealed that Per Sullivan was offered "buckets of money" to star in the reboot but turned down the opportunity.
Per Sullivan appeared in all seasons of the original show. The actor is 34 years old as of this writing, and ever since the conclusion of the original show, he has created a life for himself outside the entertainment industry. He prefers to stay out of the limelight, focusing solely on academics while pursuing a Master's degree in Victorian literature at Harvard University. Kaczmarek noted, "He’s studying Dickens and is an incredible student. They offered him buckets of money to come back, and he just said, ‘No thank you.’” Muniz, on the other hand, revealed in an interview with The New York Post, "He made the decision that he didn’t want to get back into it — which we completely respect." Muniz further added that the entire cast decided to honor Per Sullivan's decision to refrain from appearing on the upcoming reboot, and that no one would "force" him to do so against his will. "We had his blessing from day one to have the role be in the show and recast it. So I hope people aren’t too upset that he didn’t come back, but it was by his choice," stated Muniz.
After his appearance on 'Malcolm In The Middle', Per Sullivan was seen in the thriller movie 'Twelve'. He hasn't taken up an acting role since 2010, and was photographed for the first time in public in 18 years in April 2025, when he was spotted leaving his Boston residence to grab a coffee. The upcoming reboot has subsequently cast Canadian actor and 'Fargo' star Caleb Ellsworth-Clark to play Dewey.
