Malcolm Star Breaks Silence on 20-Year Hiatus

Malcolm in the Middle star Justin Berfield didn't expect to return to acting after two decades away from the spotlight.

Now, Berfield, 40, is back in the role of Reese in a four-part revival of the 2000s series, Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, that premiered on Friday and stars other original cast members including Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, Frankie Muniz and Christopher Masterson.

The reclusive actor reflected on his decision to step away from show business and what it's been like to be back in a new interview with Us Weekly.

'I just wanted to change because I had started acting when I was five. Fortunately, I worked quite a bit, and I then got on Malcolm in the Middle, which was seven years,' Berfield told the outlet.

'I just grew up working constantly, and I wanted to try something different.'

Berfield, who's spent the last several years as a to his two children, tried his hand at producing, working on such projects as The Country Bears, Romance and Cigarettes, Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive and Sons of Tucson.

He also spent some time traveling and exploring, but then his life took another turn.

'I got married and had a couple of kids and then time flew by,' Berfield said. 'Now it's been 20 years, and we're fortunate enough to be able to step back into it now.'

Berfield and his wife, Liza Almeida, have two children including a daughter born in 2020 and a second child born a few years later. He mainly keeps his children out of the public eye, though he has shared snippets of them on Instagram.