Cranston shared how Sullivan purportedly reacted to the news of the revival, and the reason why the former actor decided not to reprise his role as Dewey.
When the cast of the Malcolm in the Middle revival was announced earlier this year, it was confirmed that almost the entire original cast would be returning, including Bryan Cranston and Frankie Muniz. However, Disney revealed that one OG star would not be reprising his role: Erik Per Sullivan, who starred as youngest son Dewey.
Now, Cranston is sharing his thoughts on Sullivan’s absence in the upcoming revival episodes.
During an appearance on David Spade and Dana Carvey’s Fly on the Wall podcast, the actor — who plays family patriarch Hal — weighed in on the revival and Sullivan’s decision not to return.
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While speaking of his on-camera sons, who included Sullivan, Muniz, Christopher Masterson, and Justin Berfield, Cranston, 69, said, “It’s amazing how these boys who were my boys on that show are now around the same age I was when we first started. They’ve got children of their own.”
After Spade brought up how Sullivan appeared as a younger version of Joe Dirt in his 2001 film, Cranston noted that the former actor is “the only one who didn’t come back to act in the show.”
The Emmy winner recalled how Sullivan purportedly reacted to the news of the revival.
“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,'” Cranston said.
“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,” Cranston continued. “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.'”
Sullivan’s decision not to return shouldn’t be much of a surprise, as he stepped away from the entertainment industry over a decade ago, with his last acting credit being 2010’s Twelve.
In the wake of Sullivan choosing not to reprise his role in the Malcolm in the Middle revival, the character has been recast, with Caleb Ellsworth-Clark stepping into the role.
As previously mentioned, the rest of the crew is returning. Alongside Cranston and Muniz, Jane Kaczmarek is back as Lois, while Masterson and Berfield are reprising their roles as Malcolm’s older brothers Francis and Reese, respectively.
Cranston’s comments about Sullivan echo similar sentiments Kaczmarek expressed last year.
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During a YouTube interview with Malcolm France at the time, Kaczmarek gave some insight into the former child actor’s whereabouts after the show ended, saying Sullivan “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 and he loves Charles Dickens,” she said at the time. “He’s doing graduate work in Victorian literature. I admire it because so many people think being in show business is the greatest thing in the world; it’s not for everyone.”
Malcolm in the Middle ran from January 2000 through May 2006, lasting seven seasons and 151 episodes. The show was nominated for 33 Emmy Awards, winning seven — including writing, directing and two Supporting Actress trophies for the late Cloris Leachman.
The revival — which will consist of four episodes — began filming in April.
While speaking with Spade and Carvey on Tuesday’s podcast episode, Cranston said he’s been trying to make a reunion show happen for a decade.
“It’s something I was pushing for for the last 10 years, because I thought that the audience is there,” he shared.
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