Malcolm in the Middle star Justin Berfield spent years playing older brother Reese in the beloved American sitcom and he has now given his first interview in almost 20 years ahead of its reboot
Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) with Reese (Justin Berfield) (Image: Carin Baer/FOX)
The actor who famously played Reese in Malcolm in the Middle has broken his silence after 20 years — and revealed the real reason he quit Hollywood.
Justin Berfield is back on our screens next month with the four-episode revival of the popular show that ended two decades ago. And he has now revealed why he has remained so quiet since then.
Speaking on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, Justin, now aged 40, was asked whether he had done any other podcast or interview since the sitcom ended.
He replied: “No, like podcasts weren’t a thing and I’ve always just said no because like I wasn’t working on anything. I’m just like a stay-at-home dad! So, why am I going to do a podcast?
“Because I’m just chilling at home with my kid. So unless I had something to talk about, I’m like, I don’t want to go on a podcast.”
He then explained that he has remained in the industry by working behind the camera as an onset producer and writer on various projects.
And he added: “I was just like, I don’t care (about going on podcasts). I’m enjoying my life. Unless I have something to talk about current. I don’t want to go back in time and talk Malcolm.”
However, he is now more than happy to talk about the beloved sitcom, given Hulu’s Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is set to land on Disney+ in April.
The final episode of Malcolm aired in May 2006 and Justin revealed in the rare interview why he quit Hollywood soon after.
He said he moved to Colorado with his wife, Liza, after filming because he just wanted a change of scenery.
Giving an insight, he said: “Lots of fly fishing. I still miss it. I love it because I just loved being somewhere so secluded. I was still living in Denver so I was like in the city because I still like access to sports teams and good restaurants and things like that. So I wasn’t living in the mountains or anything like that, even though I went to visit them quite often.
“But I kind of separated from Hollywood and I just got to live somewhere else for once because I grew up here and I just wanted to live somewhere else.
“At that time I had no kids, so I was like, this is the perfect time to do this. So we lived there for three years and then we moved back to LA.”
He also revealed that he quit acting and was never “in demand” after the show.
However, he said he never had the intention of becoming the next Leonardo DiCaprio and that he has loved being a stay-at-home dad to his two children in recent years.
The new series of Malcolm in the Middle will see Justin return as the older brother of Malcolm, played by Frankie Muniz.
Malcolm’s other brother, Francis, played by Christopher Masterson, is also set to return, as are Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek who play parents Hal and Lois.
And asked what it was like being back on set with his old colleagues, Justin said it felt like no time had passed at all.
He added: “It felt like a really, just a really long hiatus. When we were filming the show, you’d film for like eight months and then you’d take like two, three months off, and then kind of go back and do some things again and start seeing everyone, and that was like your year for seven years straight.
“And then we did this, it was obviously like 20 years since we’d seen each other for most of us. And you just kind of, it felt like time stopped, like we just got right back into it.”
The synopsis to the upcoming revival reads: “After shielding himself and his daughter from his family for over a decade, Malcolm is dragged back into their orbit when Hal and Lois demand his presence at their 40th anniversary party.”
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Not Fair arrives on Disney+ on April 10