Malcolm in the Middle actor Erik Per Sullivan reportedly passed on a major payday to return as Dewey in the show’s upcoming reboot.
The revival is set to arrive on Disney+ this Friday (April 10) as a four-episode limited series.
This time around, Malcolm and his brothers reunite as adults for a milestone celebration: Hal and Lois’ 40th wedding anniversary party.
Several familiar faces are coming back, including Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston, and Frankie Muniz. However, Sullivan—who played Dewey in the original run roughly two decades ago—won’t be part of the return.
His decision is said to have come despite a sizeable offer to tempt him back.
Discussing why Sullivan isn’t involved, Kaczmarek told The Guardian: “They offered him buckets of money to come back, and he just said: ‘No thank you’.”
Cranston also addressed the situation after being asked by Entertainment Weekly whether Sullivan might return. He said he reached out personally, but the actor politely declined.
“I talked to Erik, and I said, ‘Hey, we got the show! It’s going to come back.’ He goes, ‘Oh, that’s fantastic!’ And I go, ‘Yeah, so we’re looking forward to having you back.’ He goes, ‘Oh, no, no, I don’t want to do it. But it’s fantastic’,” Cranston said.
Sullivan appeared in a handful of projects after Malcolm in the Middle ended, but later stepped away from acting and hasn’t taken on a film role in years.
Muniz has previously shared that he isn’t fully up to date on what Sullivan is doing now, speaking to the YouTube channel Malcolm France:
“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.
“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.”