Malcolm In The Middle star Justin Berfield has resurfaced after years out of the spotlight ahead of the show's upcoming reboot.
Berfield portrayed Malcolm's older brother Reese in the hit sitcom, but he left the acting world after the series ended in 2006.
Now 40, the actor has broken his silence in his first interview in almost 20 years and revealed why he stepped away from Hollywood stardom.
'I fully just stopped acting,' he told The Joe Vulpis Podcast, adding that he started working behind the scenes as a writer and producer.
'I just never reached that level where I was that in demand, I guess,' he continued.
'I had no intention of ever becoming like Leonardo . Like, that guy, he's huge. He starred in TV, did comedy, and then he exploded but that was never my intention as an actor.'
Malcolm In The Middle star Justin Berfield has resurfaced after years out of the spotlight
Berfield portrayed Malcolm's older brother Reese in the hit sitcom, but he left the acting world after the series ended in 2006
Berfield described himself as 'low key' and admitted that he's spent the last several years as a stay-at-home dad to his two children, whom he shares with wife Liza Almeida.
When asked why he hasn't done interviews in almost two decades, Berfield admitted that it was because he never had any projects to promote.
'I've always said no because I wasn't working on anything. I'm just a stay-at-home dad so why am I gonna do a podcast?' he said.
'I'm just chilling at home with my kid,' he added.
Despite exiting the spotlight, Berfield is making a comeback in Hulu's four-episode revival of Malcolm In The Middle.
Titled Malcolm In The Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, the limited series reunites the original cast as they celebrate Lois and Hal's wedding anniversary.
'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,' the official synopsis reads.
Bryan Cranston, Frankie Muniz, Jane Kaczmarek and Christopher Kennedy Masterson are all back for the new series.
The actor, now 40, is unrecognizable from his days as a teen star on the sitcom
The cast have reunited for Hulu's four-episode Malcolm in the Middle revival series
The only star who didn't return is Erik Per Sullivan, who played Malcolm's little brother Dewey.
The former actor, now 34, retired from acting shortly after the original show ended in 2006 and has remained out of the limelight ever since.
He was replaced in the Hulu reboot by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.
The hugely popular sitcom ran from 2000 to 2006, and centred around child prodigy Malcolm (played by Muniz) as he navigated life within his dysfunctional family.
Cranston, who later found A-list success with the acclaimed drama Breaking Bad, recently said, 'I think people will be surprised, in a sense, where everybody is and the story.
The hugely popular sitcom ran from 2000 to 2006, and centred around child prodigy Malcolm (played by Frankie Muniz) as he navigated life within his dysfunctional family
'But it's only four episodes…. It's hard to fit in 20 years of stuff into four 30-minute episodes, right? But I think people are going to be very happy with what they came up with.'
Reflecting on the experience in the revival, Muniz admitted that it exceeded his expectations.
'I'm not exaggerating when I say filming this reboot, like I loved it so much, way more than I ever thought I could have,' he said on a podcast last year.
Malcolm In The Middle: Life's Still Unfair will be available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ from April 10.
