Justin Berfield Recalls 20-Year Acting Break Before Malcolm

Justin Berfield has opened up about his choice to leave acting behind and his return two decades later for the Malcolm in the Middle revival.

Berfield, who began acting at the age of 5 and spent seven years on Malcolm in the Middle, expressed a desire for change. At 40, he reprises his role as Reese in the newly released four-part revival, telling Us Weekly, “I just grew up working constantly, and I wanted to try something different.”

Ultimately, Berfield transitioned to working behind the camera, saying, “I started producing some projects, and I wanted to just travel more and explore. Then I got married and had a couple of kids and then time flew by. Now it’s been 20 years, and we’re fortunate enough to be able to step back into it now.”

Returning to acting has allowed Berfield to share his work experience with his children.

Berfield shared, “It was just really nice showing my eldest daughter just me working so she can actually see it’s better than just turning on the TV and showing them something.” He and his wife, Liza Almeida, have two children. “She actually got to see me on set.”

Despite the long break from acting, Berfield felt little pressure returning to the screen. He told Us, “I’d stepped away from acting for 20 years now, so I didn’t have a lot of pressure. Obviously I had pressure on myself because I wanted to do a good job. I wanted people to enjoy the show, but it was more just me enjoying the moment too. For me, it was a little bit different. It was low pressure.”

Berfield appreciated reuniting with the original cast and crew, including creator Linwood Boomer. He remarked, “I had very little stress that it wasn’t going to be great because he wasn’t going to come back and do something that he didn’t feel was great. When he was on board, he wrote it with a few of the original writers of Malcolm,” he added. “I knew it was going to be funny. I knew it was going to have the flavor and the familiarity of what this crazy family is. So I wasn’t concerned at all.”

Malcolm in the Middle originally aired from 2000 to 2006, showcasing a working-class family with Frankie Muniz as the lead child prodigy. The show returned on April 10 with the subtitle Life’s Still Unfair, featuring Muniz, Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Masterson, and Berfield. The revival also includes Kiana Madeira, Anthony Timpano, Vaughan Murrae, and Keeley Karsten in key roles.

Following his return, Berfield expressed to Us his interest in acting again.

“I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being on set and just the whole process. I realized I do miss it a little bit,” he continued. “But I just stepped away for so long. The industry moves on and then you’re just there. I kind of had a little bit of the itch. We’ll see what happens after this.”

Berfield concluded: “It just felt natural. I feel like I just got back into the character because he’s the opposite of me. It was fun getting to channel that energy again.”

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is streaming now on Hulu and Disney+.