Before it turned into an "Animation Domination" block, Sunday nights on Fox were more open to variety and experimentation. For a long time, the network seemed to be trying to find a good fit for the 8:30 time slot to bridge the gap between The Simpsons and The X-Files. I seem to remember that a good handful of shows tried to accomplish this, only to be quickly canceled or shuffled to some other night.
Malcolm in the Middle debuted in this spot in 2000, right around the time that the network's Sunday formula was readjusting itself. The quality of The Simpsons was starting to plummet, and The X-Files was about to conclude. In the midst of this, a witty show about an incredibly intelligent kid trying to deal with his dysfunctional family and bizarre school was a welcome addition. It ran for seven seasons between 2000 and 2006, and is still a popular choice for syndication.
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So what became of the people who were part of this show? Or at least the main characters and select recurring characters I ended up choosing?
Frankie Muniz (Malcolm Wilkerson)
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The titular character wasn't quite in the middle until the birth of Hal and Lois' youngest son later in the season, but he was, of course, the main protagonist in the series. Malcolm was something of a straight man throughout the series, having more common sense than his brothers, friends, and often his parents and teachers. The early episodes establish how he is intellectually gifted and follow his reluctant transfer to the brainy "Krelboyne" classes, where he becomes something of a leader. Malcolm also strives to maintain a normal social life, but alienates most of his peers through his condescending and snarky attitude. Although he receives a lucrative job offer to work at a computer software company out of high school, his parents force him to go to college after revealing that they've already plotted a course for him to become President of the United States.
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After coming to prominence with Malcolm in the Middle, Frankie Muniz was able to get a few young adult film roles, namely a pair of movies as the young secret agent Cody Banks. He also played Chester Oddbat on The Fairly OddParents, and has since had guest roles on Criminal Minds, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, and two Sharknado sequels. He is one of the celebrities set to appear on the next season of Dancing With the Stars. Muniz, now 31, has continued to act but also explore a few other interests, including auto racing and drumming in a few different bands; he now manages a band called Astro Lasso. He was also hospitalized briefly in 2012 after suffering a "mini-stroke," but says he has since recovered.
Jane Kaczmarek (Lois Wilkerson)
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Lois had little patience for her sons' shenanigans, could typically see through their schemes and efforts at misdirection, was usually the main source of discipline in the household. She was also something of an overbearing control freak and loath to admit to being wrong, qualities which generally caused the boys to rebel rather than behave. However, she still offers some more heartfelt guidance at times and has a fairly healthy, loving relationship with her husband. Lois works as a cashier at the drugstore Lucky Aide.
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Kaczmarek, now 61, had been acting for about 18 years before Malcolm in the Middle, appearing in TV shows such as Frasier, St. Elsewhere, Party of Five, and Felicity. After the show ended, she was the star of a short-living series called Raising the Bar and has since continued to do TV work, including appearance on The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, and The Middle. She has also done some theatrical work, including a role in Long Day's Journey Into Night.
Bryan Cranston (Hal Wilkerson)
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Hal was a timid, flighty father figure who could sometimes be a bit of a disciplinarian but was far more likely to seek enjoyment in life and try to have fun with his boys. He was frequently becoming obsessed with new interests such as speed walking and Dance Dance Revolution, inevitably finding himself to be quite talented at these hobbies. Despite being something of a bumbling father figure, he was actually pretty handy (as seen in this clip where changing a light bulb ultimately leads to major auto repair). Though his job is never specified, Hal is occasionally shown as a generic office drone; in one story arc, he works at a corrupt corporation which unsuccessfully tries to set him up as the fall guy for their malfeasance.
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Cranston had his first credited role in 1968. He had a number of roles on TV shows, including a demented dentist on Seinfeld and Buzz Aldrin in the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and he appeared in a single scene in Saving Private Ryan. The cast of Malcolm in the Middle sometimes commented that they didn't think Bryan Cranston got enough recognition; he was nominated for several awards, including the Golden Globe and Emmy, but never got a win. However, the experience did earn him plenty of offers for similar "dopey dad" roles in other TV shows.
Wanting to try something different, Cranston gladly accepted the part of antihero Walter White in the critically acclaimed drama Breaking Bad. His performance earned him four Emmys for best lead actor in a drama and made him more of a household name. It also brought about a few callbacks to Malcolm in the Middle, including jokes that Breaking Bad was a prequel to the show and a DVD bonus feature showing that Walter White was just a bad dream of Hal's. Since starting on Breaking Bad, Cranston (now 61) has appeared in films such as Argo, Drive, and Trumbo. He also won a Tony Award for his Broadway performance of LBJ in All the Way.
Christopher Masterson (Francis Wilkerson)
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The oldest son of Hal and Reese, Francis had a history of mischief and getting into trouble. Although he is something of a hero to his younger brothers, his parents finally got fed up enough to send Francis to Marlin Academy, a military school, where he remains at the start of the series. Francis continues to rebel against the school's commandant as well as Lois, but also starts to show more signs of work ethic and responsibility. After emancipating himself in order to leave Marlin Academy and work as a lumberjack in Alaska, he lives something of a nomadic life. He gets married, works on the Mannkusser's dude ranch, and ultimately moves closer to home to start working in a data entry job. However, Francis maintains a facade of living a shiftless life so he can continue to irritate Lois.
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Christopher Masterson is part of the rather prolific Masterson acting family which includes Danny (Hyde on The 70s Show), Alanna (Tara on The Walking Dead), and Jordan (Ryan on Last Man Standing). Christopher started acting as a child, and some notable early parts included appearances in Touched by an Angel and Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman as well as a role in American History X. He continues to do some sporadic acting, but focuses more on deejaying in clubs around Los Angeles under the handle DJ Chris Kennedy.
Justin Berfield (Reese Wilkerson)
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The second oldest child of Hal and Lois, Reese is unabashedly happy with being a feared bully at school. He accepts the fact that he's a bit dumb, and figures that he's unlikely to amount to much in life. Reese has enough of a moral core to declare some kids off limits to bullying (namely his brothers and Stevie), and occasionally shows brief flashes of kindness, empathy, or even clever thinking. Later episodes show that Reese has a talent for cooking, although he ultimately starts working as a janitor at the end of the series.
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Justin Berfield got an early start in acting, appearing in several commercials and as the regular character of Ross Malloy on the series Unhappily Ever After. However, he quickly fell out of acting after Malcolm in the Middle, having only one more credit (on a 2010 episode of Sons of Tucson) since the show concluded. He has since gravitated toward production work and is now the chief creative officer at Virgin Produced, which has backed films such as Limitless and Bad Moms. Now 31, Berfield is also active in charitable work and, according to his Twitter page, very much enjoys fishing.
Erik Per Sullivan (Dewey Wilkerson)
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The youngest son in the family (until Hal and Lois had a fourth child later in the series), Dewey was sweet and innocent on the surface but also quite calculating and manipulative. He was often able to come up with schemes to fleece unsuspecting people or cause havoc in general. Later in the season, it was found that Dewey was also preternaturally smart like Malcolm.
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Dewey's character was a nice subversion of the "cute little kid" trope that constantly shows up in family-themed sitcoms, and Erik Per Sullivan did quite well in the role. He had a few notable film roles as a child, namely Fuzzy in The Cider House Rules, Charlie Sumner in Unfaithful, and the minor voice role of Sheldon in Finding Nemo.
It's a little unclear what Sullivan is up to these days. He continued his education after the show, attending Phillips Exeter Academy and the University of Southern California, and had one last role as Timmy in the 2010 film Twelve. Sullivan, now 26, isn't too active on social media, but has been keeping up an Instagram account, recently posting an appeal to help keep Malcolm in the Middle available on Netflix.
Craig Lamar Traylor (Stevie Kenarban)
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Stevie is Malcolm's best friend, with the two of them first bonding over a shared love of comic books. He is wheelchair-bound and has only one lung, forcing him to take a few deep breaths for every handful of words he says. Stevie is an academically gifted Krelboyne, and occasionally uses his disability to manipulate his parents or get the drop on people who underestimate him. He gets the same offer as Malcolm to get a job right out of high school in computer software, and presumably takes it.
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Craig Lamar Traylor, now 28, had a few scattered acting roles before Malcolm in the Middle, namely on an episode of ER and as a kid in a classroom in Matilda. According to his Twitter page, he now focuses mostly on designing jewelry. However, he also gets the occasional acting gig, having appeared in three films since the conclusion of the show. He'll appear as "Wiseguy" in the forthcoming film Forgiven This Gun4hire.
David Anthony Higgins (Craig Feldspar)
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One of Lois's co-workers at Lucky Aide, Craig was a kind and affable fellow if a bit of a sad sack. A training video from the store suggests that he was an up-and-coming district manager before somehow getting demoted to cashier. Malcolm and his family generally found him to be a little irritating, although he considered them to be close friends and was surprisingly forgiving after they accidentally burned out his apartment. He was hopelessly infatuated with Lois, who calmly promised to destroy any feelings he had for her after he told he loved her during a robbery where both of them were taken hostage.
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Prior to appearing on Malcolm in the Middle, David Anthony Higgins was a regular on Ellen, playing a barista named Joe Farrell in the coffee shop in the title character's bookstore. Higgins, now 55, continues to act and has appeared in a number of TV shows and movies, most notably Big Time Rush and Mike and Molly. He also co-created the paranormal parody TV show International Ghost Investigators: Hollywood Edition.
Emy Coligado (Piama Tananahaakna)
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Piama was introduced midway through the show's first season, when Francis introduced her as his wife whom he married in Alaska. Although Piama and Lois despise each other after this first meeting, they eventually grow closer and better acquainted. A woman of Native American descent, she occasionally faces bigotry and also had a difficult childhood; however, she is also shown to be particularly strong-willed, with some hints that Francis has married a woman who shares some aspects of Lois' personality.
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By the time she appeared on Malcolm in the Middle, Emy Coligado had already started to appear in a recurring role as a medical examiner named Emmy on Crossing Jordan. She also occasionally appears as a guest star, showing up in TV shows such as Shameless and Fresh Off the Boat. According to her Facebook page, Coligado (who is now 46) spends time between roles working at a casting agency and volunteering with animal shelters.
Gary Anthony Williams (Abe Kenarban)
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Stevie's father was upbeat and gregarious, but was also somewhat weak-willed and henpecked. His profession is never named, although in on episode Hal accuses Abe of ganging up on him with his buddies during poker nights because he's not like them; not because he's the only white guy at the table, but because he's the only one without a successful white-collar career. Abe still becomes close friends with Hal, with the two joining the rest of the poker group to form a bluegrass band called The Gentlemen Callers.
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Gary Anthony Williams continues to be an active actor and has appeared in TV shows and films such as Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Weeds, and Boston Legal. He has also done a considerable range of voice work, playing roles not only on children's shows such as Doc McStuffins but also adult fare like Rick and Morty; perhaps most notably, he voiced Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks. Now 51, Williams also appears regularly on Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Kenneth Mars (Otto Mannkusser)
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Along with his wife Gretchen, Otto Mannkusser owned a dude ranch called The Grotto (a portmanteau of the couple's first names). He offers Francis and Piama jobs when their car breaks down nearby following their departure from Alaska. Otto is generally portrayed as being extremely friendly, to the point where his employees take advantage of him and he is willing to forgive any faults or incompetence. Nevertheless, a later episode mentions that he fires Francis after learning that he has been depositing the ranch's checks into a phony ATM.
Otto's thick German accent may have made some viewers recognize Kenneth Mars from his role as the Nazi-loving playwright Franz Liebkind in The Producers. His acting credits also included Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Young Frankenstein. He later transitioned to voice acting roles, most notably Triton in The Little Mermaid. Although he continued to act through 2008, he retired after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Mars died in 2011 at the age of 75.
Daniel von Bargen (Commandant Edwin Spangler)
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The IMDB page for Daniel von Bargen describes him as showing up in a number of roles as a "cop, military officer and/or tough guy." His credits include film such as Basic Instinct, RoboCop 3, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and Super Troopers. He also played Mr. Kruger in four episodes of Seinfeld and an Air Force general in two episodes of The West Wing.
Unfortunately, von Bargen also suffered quite a bit from diabetes. He hadn't had an acting credit for three years and had already lost a leg to the disease in 2012 when he learned that some of the toes of his remaining foot would need to be taken off. In despair, he shot himself in the head. Though von Bargen survived this suicide attempt, he died of complications from diabetes three years later at the age of 64.
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