Erik Per Sullivan during Fox Television 2002-2003 Upfront Party in New York City.
Credit: Jim Spellman\/WireImage<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Erik Per Sullivan is not reprising his role as Dewey<\/a> in the Malcolm in the Middle<\/a> <\/em>revival.<\/p>\n The former actor portrayed the hilarious, musically gifted second youngest Wilkerson son on all seven seasons of the beloved Fox sitcom, from 2000 to 2006.<\/p>\n But, for nearly two decades, Per Sullivan has led a private life away from Hollywood. In June 2025, Bryan Cranston<\/a>, who portrayed patriarch Hal Wilkerson, shared on the Fly on the Wall<\/em> with Dana Carvey and David Spade<\/em><\/a> podcast that Per Sullivan was earning his master\u2019s degree<\/a> at Harvard while Malcolm<\/em> will return for a limited four-episode run on Disney+.<\/p>\n Cranston shared that his on-screen son is not interested in stepping into Dewey\u2019s shoes again.<\/p>\n “I talked to Erik 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,’ ” Cranston revealed.<\/p>\n In April 2026, Lois actress Jane Kaczmarek confirmed Cranston’s account and told The Guardian<\/em><\/a>, \u201cHe\u2019s studying Dickens and is an incredible student \u2013 they offered him buckets of money to come back, and he just said: \u2018No thank you.’ “<\/p>\n Here\u2019s everything to know about Erik Per Sullivan and where the Malcolm in the Middle<\/em> alum is now.<\/p>\n Frankie Muniz, Erik Per Sullivan and Justin Berfield in Malcolm in the Middle. Per Sullivan is a former American actor. Born in Worcester, Mass., on July 12, 1991, his first big role came in 1999\u2019s The Cider House Rules<\/em>.<\/p>\n He appeared in the pilot of the brief ABC medical drama Wonderland<\/em> before landing the role of Dewey on Malcolm in the Middle<\/em>. The Fox sitcom remains his best-known role.<\/p>\n Frankie Muniz, Christopher Masterson, Erik Per Sullivan and Justin Berfield in Malcolm in the Middle. Per Sullivan portrayed Dewey on Malcolm in the Middle<\/em>. The Massachusetts native appeared in all seven seasons of the Fox show\u2019s original run, which ran for 151 episodes from 2000 to 2006.<\/p>\n Dewey was the humorous, smart, musically-inclined second youngest son of the Wilkerson family.<\/p>\n Erik Per Sullivan during The “Arthur and the Invisibles” Premiere in New York City. During his time on the sitcom, Per Sullivan appeared in films like 2001\u2019s Joe Dirt<\/em>, 2003\u2019s Finding Nemo<\/em><\/a> and 2004\u2019s Christmas with the Kranks<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n His last credited role on IMDb<\/a> was as Timmy in the 2010 film Twelve<\/em>, starring 50 Cent<\/a>, Chace Crawford<\/a> and Emma Roberts<\/a>.<\/p>\n The actor retired from the industry in 2010, leaving Hollywood to focus on his education.<\/p>\n Justin Berfield, Frankie Muniz, Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston, Christopher Masterson, and Erik Per Sullivan in Malcolm in the Middle. Per Sullivan has never participated in a Malcolm<\/em> reunion, and he will not return for the revival<\/a>, as he is retired from acting.<\/p>\n Malcolm in the Middle<\/em> is returning as a four-episode, limited-run series on Disney+, the streamer announced in December 2024. In the new series, Dewey is portrayed by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Per Sullivan has not publicly commented on the revival or recasting, Cranston and Kaczmarek have. On a June 2025 episode of the Fly on the Wall<\/em> with Dana Carvey and David Spade<\/em> podcast, the Breaking Bad<\/em> star shared that Per Sullivan was \u201cthe only one who didn\u2019t come back to act in the show.\u201d<\/p>\n “He’s really, really smart, and he’s getting his master’s at Harvard right now,” Cranston said. “He said, ‘Oh, God no. I haven’t acted since I was 9 or something, so I’m not into it.’ “<\/p>\n Cranston did note that though Per Sullivan didn\u2019t want to do the revival, he did think \u201cit\u2019s fantastic\u201d that Malcolm<\/em> would be returning.<\/p>\n Per Sullivan leads a private life.<\/p>\n In 2007, he earned the James Joyce Award from the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin. He also made a handful of public appearances that year, attending the New York City premiere of Arthur and the Invisibles<\/em>, Boston\u2019s Oscar Night America and his mother Ann\u2019s naturalization ceremony in Boston.<\/p>\n After leaving the entertainment industry in 2010 to pursue academia, he briefly attended the University of Southern California.<\/p>\n \u201cI talked to Erik Per Sullivan (Dewey) today for the first time since Malcolm finished filming 4 years ago.\u00a0 He’s going to USC… crazy!\u201d Frankie Muniz, who portrayed Dewey\u2019s big brother Malcolm, wrote on X<\/a> in December 2009.<\/p>\n During an April 2024 interview with Malcolm France<\/a> at the Paris Manga Sci-fi Show by TGS, Kaczmarek revealed that her on-screen son was now studying Victorian literature at “a very prestigious American university,\u201d though she didn\u2019t reveal which school. On the Fly on the Wall <\/em>podcast, Cranston named the university as Harvard.<\/p>\n In April 2025, Per Sullivan was spotted running errands in Boston<\/a>. In the photos, he\u2019s seen wearing a peacoat and cap while holding onto a to-go cup of coffee.<\/p>\n Jane Kaczmarek and Erik Per Sullivan at the FOX tca Winter Party on January 17, 2006 in Los Angeles., CaliforniaWho is Erik Per Sullivan?<\/h2>\n
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Credit: FOX via Alamy<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nWhat was Erik Per Sullivan\u2019s role on Malcolm in the Middle<\/em>?<\/h2>\n
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Credit: FOX via Alamy<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nDid Erik Per Sullivan act after Malcolm in the Middle<\/em>?<\/h2>\n
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Credit: Sylvain Gaboury\/FilmMagic<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nWill Erik Per Sullivan return for the Malcolm in the Middle <\/em>revival?<\/h2>\n
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Credit: Photo12\/Fox Television via Alamy<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nWhere is Erik Per Sullivan now?<\/h2>\n
What did Jane Kaczmarek say about Erik Per Sullivan?<\/h2>\n
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Credit: Tsuni \/ USA via Alamy<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n