Everett Collection/Getty
"He's very, very well," said the actor's on-screen mom, who shared what he's up to while adding show business "is not for everybody"
Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek, who played on-screen mother Lois, shared an update on Dewey actor Erik Per Sullivan.
Kaczmarek opened up about Sullivan -- who played Frankie Muniz's younger brother from 2000 to 2006 before leaving show business -- while attending the March 2024 TGS Paris Manga & Sci-Fi pop culture festival.
"He's well, he's very, very well," Kaczmarek said in an interview with Malcolm France, a YouTube channel dedicated to the FOX TV series.
Everett / Instagram
Frankie Muniz 'Walked Off the Set' of Malcolm In the Middle Over 'Rude' and 'Disrespectful' Behavior
View StoryAfter playing the fan-favorite character during the seven-season run of the show, Sullivan would go on to play a couple of more roles before leaving the spotlight entirely. His last acting credit was in 2010, for the crime film Twelve.
"He did Malcolm for seven years, he started at seven, he ended at 14," Kaczmarek said. "He wasn’t interested in acting, at all."
Sullivan's character was often the center of jokes and was picked on by his older brothers, but became regarded as one of the series' smartest characters. Sullivan, per Kaczmarek, is pursuing more intellectual endeavors these days as well.
"He goes to school at a very prestigious American university that he's asked us all to be quiet about and he loves Charles Dickens. He's doing graduate work in Victorian literature," Kaczmarek said of Sullivan's current academic career. "I admire it because so many people think being in show business is the greatest thing in the world, it's not for everybody.”
Kaczmarek said that while he is "grateful" for his role in the show, Sullivan would not be attending any conventions any time soon.
She went on to praise his acting chops and shared that whenever show creator Linwood Boomer was unsure what scene to include while editing, he would "cut to Dewey."
"Just show a shot of Dewey and the scene was going to work," the 68-year-old actress said. "There was something about that kid that was just incredible."
