Malcolm In The Middle Cast: Where Are They Now?
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Malcolm in the Middle was a suburban comedy that ran from 2000-2006 of Fox. Malcolm is a child genius child who lives with a family full of half-wits and bullies. Malcolm and his brothers have many misadventures in their family of six (later seven) of all boys. Their mom, Lois, is the overbearing and hot-heated type. Hal, the father, is kind of a goofball. Malcolm has two older brothers - the bully Reece and the deadbeat Francis (who eventually becomes less of a deadbeat when he gets married towards the end of the show). He also has a little brother, Dewey, who is also incredibly intelligent and musically talented. In season four, Lois and Hal have another baby, Jamie, who remains on the show until the finale in 2006.
Malcolm struggles with the everyday of growing up with hilarious results. He speaks directly to the camera, like he knows there is an audience there. The exploits of the family lead to some incredibly funny and really heartwarming episodes that made Malcolm in the Middle a modern classic. It was viewed by millions of people, all the way until its eventual finale in 2006. The show is listed as one of Fox’s top 10 shows of all time.
It’s been a decade since the family has been on screen together; the kids are all grown up and have flown the coop. The stars of the show have moved on with their careers (or not). So where are all of our favorite Malcolm in the Middle stars now?
10. Jane Kaczmarek – Lois
Although Jane Kaczmarek studied to become a teacher (just like her mom), we’re glad she decided to be an actress instead! The show wouldn’t have been the same without her. After Malcolm in the Middle ended in 2006, the actress still had plenty of work to do. Her TV career has continued to grow throughout the years, Jane has a recurring character she voices on The Simpsons and well as some starring roles in a few made-for-TV movies. The actress has been in tons of shows, including the 2013 comedy Us and Them and voices Red Jessica in the children’s TV show Jake and the Never Land Pirates. She guest starred in an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Also, she wrote an afterword for the book Together, lending her name to it along with Malcolm co-star Erik Per Sullivan; the book is about world hunger and the importance of livestock. Jane also recently hosted the L.A. Children’s Chorus Gala Bel Canto in L.A., which was celebrating its 30th year. Look for her in the upcoming horror thriller The Wolves at the Door in 2016 and CHiPs, an action comedy.
9. Bryan Cranston – Hal
Hal has made it big since his days on Malcolm in the Middle! The star has been on the award winning show Breaking Bad as the meth-making Walter. He was even nominated for an Oscar in 2016 for his role in Trumbo. Bryan Cranston also lent his voice to the newest Kung Fu Panda movie in 2016. Bryan has a selection of films set to come out in the next year or so, including the dramedy The Disaster Artist as well as a drama about an activist in the 1930s called In Dubious Battle. It was announced in early April 2016 that the Maui Film Festival is honoring the Malcolm father with its male Navigator Award in Hawaii this year. What a great year to be Bryan Cranston!
8. Christopher Masterson – Francis
Christopher Masterson, who played oldest brother Francis in Malcolm, hasn’t been up to much acting lately. The young actor is now all grown up, and he has become a scientologist since his days on Malcolm. He and his actor brother have opened up a few restaurants together.He did show up in the 2015 comedy flop Bad Roomies and has a thriller (in post production as of April 2016) coming into theatres soon called Beneath the Leaves. He also had a brief appearance on the show Haven. In 2007, he and sexy Orange is the New Black actress Laura Prepon broke up, and he’s been out of the news ever since.
7. Justin Berfield – Reese
Reese was played by Justin Berfield on Malcolm in the Middle. At age nine, little Reese auditioned to be Young Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars first prequel. He did a little acting in Unhappily Ever After as well as on Malcolm in the Middle. Other than a bit part on Sons of Tucson, Berfield has given up his roles in front of the camera to spend some time behind it. The actor is now a producer; he works on Sons of Tucson and has worked on several documentaries. He founded a production company called Virgin Produced. The former child star spends most of his free time travelling.
6. Erik Per Sullivan – Dewey
Erik Per Sullivan is all grown up now! The adorable former TV star is still big-eared and smiley. He has played a few little parts in movies since his tenure on Malcolm, but like most of his TV siblings, has mostly given up on acting. Sullivan also lent his name and wrote a forward for the book Together with his former TV mom Jane Kaczmarek. He is a Taekwondo black belt and fluent in Swedish. After he gave up his acting work, he studied at the University of Southern California. The young former star seems to be avoiding the limelight everywhere; he doesn’t even appear to be on social media at all. Good for him!
5. Craig Lamar Traylor - Stevie Kenarban
Stevie was Malcolm’s best friend on the show. Although his character was supposed to be a one off, the wheelchair-bound asthmatic ended up becoming a main character, staying with the show until it ended in 2006. Actor Craig Lamar Traylor who played Stevie shocked the world when pictures of him went viral in March 2016. He’d grown up, gotten a few tattoos and even gauged out his ears; the former child star looked nothing like his old self! He’s now a tattoo artist. He’s been in a three or four films since Malcolm, including the 2011 box office bomb Dance Fu.
4. David Anthony Higgins - Craig Feldspar
David Anthony Higgins played Craig Feldspar, the lonely, kind of creepy guy that always hit on Lois. His acting career has been doing quite well since Malcolm; he’s kept mostly to the small screen, taking small parts in American Horror Story, Last Man Standing, and Comedy, Bang Bang! The actor has also had regular roles on several TV comedies including International Ghost Investigators as Dave, Big Time Rush as Reginald Bitters, and Mike and Molly as Harry. Mike and Molly was just cancelled after six seasons by CBS in late 2015. Lately, he’s been doing standup improv in his home state of Iowa.
3. Emy Coligado - Piama Tananahaakna
According to her website, Emy Coligado has been working hard since the end of Malcolm in the Middle. She’s been in several movies and TV shows, including the 2012 Three Stooges Movie, the TV drama Crossing Jordan, and the 2009 office comedy web series Ctrl. Emy has several videos of her singing on her site, and her voice is absolutely beautiful. The lovely actress is also sings up on the big stage and has been in several productions, including one Broadway production of Miss Saigon. She has a Psychology degree. Emy also likes to help animal rescue organizations find homes for animals.
2. James and Lukas Rodriguez – Jamie
The baby of the family, Jamie, came along during season four and stuck around until the end of the show. The youngest was played by twins in a very Mary-Kate-and-Ashley on Full House kind way. The adorable little additions were baby actors James and Lukas Rodriguez. These little cuties have retired from acting for the most part in 2006 after they put in 35 episode with Malcolm in the Middle. The only exception appears to be when they played a sick kid in an episode of Without a Trace in 2009. In 2012, they joined with most of the rest of the cast family again (minus Dewey) for a mini-reunion (do you think they even remember being on the show?).
1. Frankie Muniz – Malcolm
After Malcolm finished up in 2006, main character Frankie Muniz pretty much retired from acting. He was in a couple of movie roles and had a few bit parts, but the former child star turned his attentions to his other passions, like music and racing. He was playing drums for a Pennsylvania-based band named Kingsfoil. In 2013, Frankie suffered a mini stroke, but made a full recovery. The stroke, among other things, caused him to split with Kingsfoil and go his own way. In 2015, he tweeted about a possible reboot of Malcolm, called Malcolm in the Mid-Life Crisis. It was either a weird joke, or he was just gauging interest in a what might be a new project?
Sources: Variety, Gazette Review, MTV, Hollywood, Bustle, Pasadena Now
