Justin Berfield is opening up about renewed interest in his former Malcolm in the Middle costar Erik Per Sullivan<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The sitcom star shared on Howie Mandel Does Stuff that he’s “been seeing paparazzi shots” of the former child actor, who wishes to remain out of the spotlight<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
“He didn’t want to come back to the show, no hard feelings. Everyone loves him,” he said<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Justin Berfield<\/a> is looking out for his former costar.<\/p>\n During his Tuesday, April 28, appearance on Howie Mandel Does Stuff<\/a>, the Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair actor reiterated that fellow original series star Erik Per Sullivan<\/a> wasn’t interested in joining the revival. He also had a response to renewed paparazzi interest<\/a> in his childhood friend.<\/p>\n “He’s a good guy. I love Erik. And I actually feel bad,” Berfield, 40, said. “He wants to stay out of the business, and I’ve been seeing paparazzi shots of him. Just leave Erik alone.”<\/p>\n He added, “He didn’t want to come back to the show, no hard feelings. Everyone loves him.”<\/p>\n Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey in 2001 Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <\/strong>PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n Host Howie Mandel<\/a>, 70, also asked Berfield at the start of the podcast to reach out to the former TV star to see if he’d be interested in chatting.<\/p>\n In Life’s Still Unfair, the four-episode revival that arrived on April 10, Per Sullivan does not make an appearance. Instead, actor Caleb Ellsworth-Clark<\/a> fills in as Dewey. He told PEOPLE at the April 7 premiere in New York City that he was “really, really nervous showing up” to set as the beloved character.<\/p>\n “I grew up watching the show,” Ellsworth-Clark said. “I know that Dewey was a fan favorite, but he was also a personal favorite. And I think I was aware that maybe people might be disappointed Erik wasn\u2019t gonna come back and do the show. I guess I didn\u2019t want to f— that up.”<\/p>\n He added that the cast \u2014 which included returning actors Frankie Muniz<\/a>,\u00a0Bryan Cranston<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jane Kaczmarek<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 was “very warm” to him when he joined the sitcom family. “They were so warm and welcoming,” Ellsworth-Clark said. “I was really scared to show up but they all took such great care of me and made me feel like I belong. So I am really grateful to all of them.”<\/p>\n Cranston, 70, previously revealed that Per Sullivan was\u00a0earning his master\u2019s degree<\/a>\u00a0at Harvard\u00a0and not interested in portraying Dewey again. Kaczmarek also confirmed Cranston’s account, telling\u00a0The Guardian<\/a>\u00a0that the former child actor was “studying Dickens and is an incredible student.” He was offered “buckets of money” but ultimately declined, she said.<\/p>\n Per Sullivan, now 34, appeared in all seven seasons of the original show, which ran from 2000 to 2006 on Fox.<\/p>\n Malcolm in the Middle: Life\u2019s Still Unfair\u00a0is streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.<\/p>\n![\"Erik](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/826b024cff79bf9d30ccafb833830b2d.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Everett<\/p>\n