Justin Berfield is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is most known for his role as Reese in the popular 2000s series Malcolm in the Middle. But what has he been doing since the series ended?
Berfield was born in Los Angeles, California, on February 25, 1986, to his parents Gail and Eric Berfield. He has one older brother, Lorne Berfield, who had a brief acting career at a young age as well.
Early Career
From the young age of five, he began acting in television commercials. His first-ever role was for a Folgers commercial. After that, he was featured in over fifteen others, garnering the nickname “The Commercial Kid” for himself.
His first major role came in 1994 for the sitcom The Good Life. He played Bob Bowman, son of the main character John Bowman and starred alongside Drew Carey. The show only had one season and Berfield was in all 13 episodes.
Just one year later when he was nine years old, he landed his first long-running role in the sitcom Unhappily Ever After. Berfield plays “the forgotten child,” Ross Malloy who serves as a voice of reason to the rest of his family. The show follows the escapades of the Malloy family as they struggle to stay together in the wake of their father’s diagnosis of schizophrenia.
The show spanned five seasons and had 100 total episodes, all of which Berfield starred in.
Malcom in the Middle
His most notable role came in 2000 when he was cast as Reese in Malcolm in the Middle. He co-starred alongside Bryan Cranston and Frankie Muniz for seven seasons of the show. It was centered around Muniz’s character, Malcolm, as he tried to survive in his dysfunctional family. Reese was his troublesome older brother.
The series ended in 2006 after airing 151 episodes. Berfield was the first child star to act in over 100 episodes of two different television series. He would star in the show alongside Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, Erik Per Sullivan and Craig Lamar Traylor.
While filming Malcolm in the Middle, Berfield made guest appearances on shows such as The Fairly Odd Parents and Kim Possible as a voice actor and took on smaller roles in a few made-for-video films.
What did he do after Malcom in the Middle
Aside from acting, Berfield has produced, created, and written different productions. In 2005 his first producer credit was for the film Romance & Cigarettes. The film starred an ensemble cast including names like Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, and Christopher Walken. It made almost three million at the box office.
He also created a reality television series called Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive. A show about taking wealthy Americans and forcing them to adapt to the rural way of life. The show only aired for one season in 2005.
One of his most successful production credits is for the sitcom Sons of Tucson. While the series is well-reviewed now, it only aired four episodes before Fox pulled it from the Network due to poor viewership. Berfield also made a guest appearance on one episode of the show.
What is Justin Berfield Doing Now?
In 2010 Berfield was hired by the founder of Virgin Records founder Richard Branson to join his team. He has been working as the CEO of Virgin Produced ever since. He was hired alongside Jason Felts to head the new division.
Berfield and Felts both founded and ran their own production company together called J2 Pictures which they rolled into Virgin Produced.
Virgin Produced has helped bring movies like Limitless, The Edge of Seventeen, Bad Moms, and That Awkward Moment to life.
In 2022 he produced another similar reality series called Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules where we follow several relatives of celebrities as they prove to the world that they are more than their family names. The series has aired for one season so far, but as of writing this, there has been no confirmation if it will be renewed or canceled.
Malcolm in the Middle co-stars Bryan Cranston and Frankie Muniz have spoken openly with the media about their desire for a reboot of the series and it sounds like there might be open discussions about making that happen. If it does, there is a chance that Berfield will reprise his role as Reese Wilkerson one last time.
He is actively involved in the charity Virgin Unite which is involved with countless smaller organizations to provide funding and leadership. He was a former youth ambassador for the Ronald McDonald Foundation, but when he turned 18 he stepped down from that role.
Personal Life
As far as Berfield’s personal life goes, he is a very private person. He is married to a woman named Liza and together they have one child. Berfield occasionally posts pictures with his child on Instagram but always makes sure to cover their face so they can be raised privately. He hasn’t been active on Twitter in a while, but sometimes he pops into Tweet about LA sports teams and his life being a dad.
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