Dewey actor turned down ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ reboot to go to Harvard instead, says Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston has revealed the original Dewey actor turned down the Malcolm In The Middle reboot in order to study for a Masters at Harvard.

In December, it was revealed that the beloved sitcom – which ran for seven seasons on Fox from 2000 to 2006 – was returning for a new four-episode run with Disney+.

Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek will both return as Hal and Lois, the parents of four boys, including child prodigy Malcolm. Frankie Muniz, Christopher Masterson and Justin Berfield are all on board for the reboot too, but Erik Per Sullivan, who played the youngest boy Dewey, will not be back.

During an appearance on the Fly On The Wall podcast, Cranston revealed the reason that Sullivan is not part of the revival. “I talked to Eric and I said, ‘Hey, we got the show! It’s going to come back.’ He goes, ‘Oh, that’s fantastic!’ And I go, ‘Yeah, so we’re looking forward to having you back.’ He goes, ‘Oh, no, no, I don’t want to do it. But it’s fantastic.'”

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“He’s actually going to Harvard,” he added. “He’s really, really smart, and he’s getting his master’s at Harvard right now. He said, ‘Oh God, no, I haven’t acted since I was 9 or something. So I’m not into it.'”

That follows comments made by Kaczmarek last year that Sullivan had lost interest in acting. “He’s well, he’s very, very well,” she said. “He did Malcolm for seven years, he started at seven, he ended at 14. He wasn’t interested in acting, at all. He goes to school at a very prestigious American university that he’s asked us all to be quiet about… I admire it because so many people think being in show business is the greatest thing in the world, it’s not for everyone”.

In Sullivan’s place will be Caleb Ellsworth-Clark, known for his work on the TV version of Fargo. No release date has been confirmed but Deadline reported that filming for the episodes wrapped in May.

Malcolm is said to now be a father in the show, confirmed by an official logline for the episodes that read: “Malcolm and his daughter are drawn into the family’s chaos when Hal and Lois demand his presence for their 40th wedding anniversary party”.

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