NEED TO KNOW
Caleb Ellsworth-Clark is sharing what it was like to step into Dewey’s shoes
The Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair star described taking over for Erik Per Sullivan as the unpredictable younger brother from the ’00s sitcom
“I know that Dewey was a fan favorite, but he was also a personal favorite,” Ellsworth-Clark says
Caleb Ellsworth-Clark knows there’s a duty to being Dewey.
The Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair star, who takes over as Malcolm’s younger brother after original star Erik Per Sullivan passed on the revival, was “really, really nervous showing up” to set as the beloved character. But the Malcolm cast made it easy, he says.
Ellsworth-Clark caught up with PEOPLE at the Tuesday, April 7 premiere of Life’s Still Unfair at the DGA New York Theater, where he explained the feeling of filling Dewey’s once-tiny shoes.
“I grew up watching the show,” he says. “I know that Dewey was a fan favorite, but he was also a personal favorite. And I think I was aware that maybe people might be disappointed Erik wasn’t gonna come back and do the show. I guess I didn’t want to f— that up.”
Caleb Ellsworth-Clark at the ‘Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair’ premiere on April 7, 2026
Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
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Ellsworth-Clark, whose all-time favorite Dewey episode involves a purse full of bricks, rewatched a bit of the show to prepare for the role. The cast — which includes original stars Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek — was “very warm” to him when he joined the family, he says.
“They were so warm and welcoming,” Ellsworth-Clark says. “I was really scared to show up but they all took such great care of me and made me feel like I belong. So I am really grateful to all of them.”
The Malcolm revival features plenty of familiar faces, including Justin Berfield (Reese), Christopher Masterson (Francis) and Emy Coligado (Piama).
Cranston, who also serves as EP on Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair on top of playing Hal, previously revealed that Per Sullivan was earning his master’s degree at Harvard and not interested in portraying Dewey again. Per Sullivan, now 34, appeared in all seven seasons of the original show, which ran from 2000 to 2006 on Fox.
“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 told the Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade podcast in June 2025.
Kaczmarek also confirmed Cranston’s account, telling The Guardian that the former child actor was “studying Dickens and is an incredible student.” Despite being offered “buckets of money,” she said, Per Sullivan ultimately declined.
The four-part revival finds Malcolm all grown up after he shielded himself and his daughter “from his family for over a decade,” before being “dragged back into their orbit when Hal and Lois demand his presence at their 40th anniversary party,” per a synopsis.
Speaking with PEOPLE at the revival’s premiere, Muniz described what it felt like to return to the character that helped put him on the map.
“You never thought you’d get to relive this. We did it the first time 26 years ago when the show first premiered, you’re taking it in, you don’t know what’s happening. You don’t know if people are gonna watch the show, you don’t know if they’re gonna like it,” he says.
Muniz adds: “To get to relive this, a premiere, to relive it with everybody and make something that I know people are gonna love is really special. Because usually you don’t know. … We know that there’s a huge audience all around the world that likes Malcolm and is excited for it. And hopefully they love these episodes.”
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
Read the original article on People