When it comes to mega child actors who’ve made themselves vanish from the spotlight, it’s hard to think of anyone who has done it better than Erik Per Sullivan.
Yes, that’s the kid who played Dewey in Malcolm in the Middle. You might also remember him as Spike from Christmas with Kranks.
We can’t be sure if he made a conscious effort to be so low-key but you have to respect it seeing as it feels like no-one’s heard from the actor in a long, long time.
But what we can show you is one of the only known videos of Sullivan as an older guy, as he appears to send a message to a fan. Take a look below:
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Although he’s still a fan-favorite to this day, we haven’t really heard much from Sullivan - now 32 - after Malcolm in the Middle’s finale in 2006.
The last time we saw him on our screens was in 2010 when he featured in the film Twelve alongside the likes of 50 Cent, Chace Crawford, Rory Caulkin and Emma Roberts.
He did, apparently, create an Instagram account in 2020, but it's now private and unverified.
Malcolm actor Frankie Muniz gave his honest verdict about Sullivan in an old interview with YouTube channel Malcolm France.
"To be honest, I don't know what he's up to," he explained. "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.
"I think that's what he wanted to do so good for him."
We all know how difficult it is for famous child actors to remain sane in their early years, so it's completely understandable if Sullivan perhaps wanted a 'normal' type of life.
At the same time, it's always nice to hear from your favorite actors once in a while, but the closest thing we can find is the bizarre video of Sullivan, which would have been filmed some years after the series as he looked considerably older.
It’s hard to totally make out what he’s saying in the clip, but we’ve tried our best to transcribe it.
"Hey [ - ] my name's Erik Per Sullivan and I just thought I'd say hi spontaneously because your uncle did not encourage us at all, he's a good guy," the actor says.
"Yeah I heard you liked the show and I'm just sending greetings from where ever we are. Thanks."
Yep, we don't have a clue who he's shouting out either, but it's interesting to see an older version of the Dewey actor, despite not really knowing what he's saying.
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Jess Battison