Frankie Muniz gives heartbreaking answer to fan who asked where Dewey actor has been since show

Frankie Muniz has given Malcolm In The Middle fans an update on what Erik Per Sullivan – the actor who played Dewey – has been doing in the years since the show ended.

Malcolm In The Middle was a huge part of most of our childhoods in the early to mid-2000s, and the comedy series followed the life of an 11-year-old boy named Malcolm and his dysfunctional family and school life.

Muniz played the titular role in the children’s series, while his youngest brother Dewey was played by Per Sullivan.

While most of the cast has remained in the spotlight and worked on different projects since the show finished in 2006, Per Sullivan has maintained a low profile since his last major role in 2010.

Erik Per Sullivan prefers a quiet life these days. Credit: Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images

Despite being a fan-favorite character and having several other roles throughout his short-lived career in Hollywood, a few years after the show finished the now-32-year-old decided to embrace life outside of the spotlight.

Muniz, now 36, gave fans a longed-for insight into where Per Sullivan has been in an interview that took place a few years ago, and he admitted even he struggles to keep up with his former co-star.

He explained: “To be honest, I don’t know what he’s up to. I hate to say that because I’ve talked to him a few times since the show ended.

“I’ve talked to his parents a lot. When I was in the band, we went and played in the city where he lives and his parents came to the show but unfortunately he couldn’t make it.

“So I got to talk to them, and he’s been all over doing a lot of different things.”

Muniz added: “But one thing I know, some actors or some people just got to do it when they were a kid and then they wanted to experience other things and kind of live a more normal life out of the spotlight.

“I think that’s what he wanted to do, so good for him.”

Fair enough! The glare of attention is not always easy for many people to live under, so it’s no wonder some former child stars opt to go back to more normal lives if they still can.

Before he quit acting, Per Sullivan’s credits included Armageddon and Christmas With The Kranks among other film and TV projects.

Nowadays, Per Sullivan doesn’t even appear to have any public social media accounts of his own either.

One Instagram page was created claiming to be Per Sullivan, but its authenticity has never been verified, though it did share some snaps of the star looking older than when he was last seen.

The rest of the Malcolm In The Middle gang have mostly continued as actors, the most famous arguably being Bryan Cranston, who played the family’s dad, Hal, and has gone on to play Walter White in Breaking Bad as well as a whole roster of other film and TV projects.

Muniz has also pursued different interests outside of acting in recent years, having carved a career for himself as a race car driver.

He revealed to Dave Moody on Sirius XM last year that he was hoping to join NASCAR, explaining: “We’re talking to a bunch of teams, both in ARCA and Trucks, Xfinity. I want to be realistic, too. Obviously, I haven’t done a ton of oval racing. So everywhere I am going to go next year is going to be new.

“So in that same sense I want to move up quickly. I don’t want to throw myself completely off the deep end. I know in ARCA National, the Trucks Series – it’s ultra-competitive. It’s not little, local racing, it’s the top level of motorsports.

“I want to make sure that I’m ready. I believe that I am. But it’s all about kind of putting the best deal together with a Truck ride or ARCA ride.

“I just want to be in a race car, so as much seat time as possible is gonna be key for me the rest of this year and next year just to keep learning and progressing. That is the goal is to be in a Truck or doing ARCA National or both.”

He managed to achieve this goal in pretty quick timing, as in January 2023 it was announced that Muniz would drive full-time for Rette Jones Racing in the ARCA Menards Series in the team’s No. 30 Ford Mustang.