Malcolm in the Middle is officially back and the actor who played older brother Reese has revealed that he has ‘never watched the show’ despite being a leading figure in it
Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) with Reese (Justin Berfield) (Image: Carin Baer/FOX)
The actor who starred as Reese in Malcolm in the Middle has “never watched the show” back. Justin Berfield, now 40, has now returned to our screens for the reboot of the sitcom that ended two decades ago. He has lived a quiet life since then and recently revealed why he quit Hollywood.
But speaking on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, he confirmed that he had watched the four-episode revival, which was released on Disney+ today (April 10), but he still avoids the original episodes.
He said: “I watched it — and I never watched any of the Malcolm episodes.”
Host Joe, clearly surprised, pushed him further, and Justin continued: “I think I’ve, out of 151 episodes, I think I’ve just seen five… I just never watched them.
“I’m an actor… I cannot watch myself because I critique myself way too much.”
He was then informed that he was “great” as Reese but he responded: “I am like, I feel I didn’t hit that joke right, I feel like I messed that line up. I can’t watch myself.
“I’ll turn it on for my wife and kids and I’ll run away and leave the room. I’m like, ‘Let me know when it’s done.’”
He was then pressed on whether he will one day watch it back, given it might trigger some positive memories he had forgotten about.
Justin, who is now a stay-at-home dad who has worked as an onset producer and writer, said: “I don’t know… maybe. I just get uncomfortable watching myself. I know every actor is different and some people love watching themselves, I just can’t. I don’t know. I critique myself too much.”
The reboot sees Justin return as the older brother to Malcolm, played by Frankie Muniz.
He said it was interesting to see where all the characters ended up 20 years later — and he said Reese was still his “shortsighted but quick reacting” self.
Also returning is Malcom’s other older brother, Francis, portrayed by Christopher Masterson. And the siblings’ parents, Hal and Lois, played by Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek, are also starring in it.
The synopsis reveals: “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.”
And as for what it was like being back on set after so long away from his former colleagues, Justin said: “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.”
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is streaming on Disney Plus from April 10