Justin Berfield


Justin Tyler Berfield is a former American actor, writer, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Malcolm's dimwitted older brother, Reese, on the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. He also played Ross Malloy on The WB sitcom Unhappily Ever After. As of 2010, Berfield is Chief Creative Officer of Virgin Produced, a film and television development, packaging, and production company announced in 2010 by the Virgin Group.

Personal life

Berfield was born in Agoura Hills, California, to Gail Berfield and Eric "Rick" Berfield. He is the younger brother of actor Lorne Berfield. Berfield is Jewish. He bought and then later sold the house previously owned by stars Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.

Acting career

Berfield's first screen appearance was in a Folgers coffee commercial at age five. He went on to appear in 20 other nationally broadcast American commercials as a young child. His TV debut came in the short-lived series The Good Life in which he co-starred with Drew Carey. More TV appearances followed in Hardball, The Boys Are Back, and The Mommies.
Berfield's first long-running TV role was as Ross Malloy in Unhappily Ever After, in which he notched up 100 episode appearances. He gained international prominence with his role on January 9, 2000, when Linwood Boomer casted him to play Malcolm's trouble-making older brother Reese on the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. He appeared in all 151 episodes of that series, and with the recording of the 100th episode became the youngest actor in screen history to have appeared in 100 episodes of two different TV series. After Malcolm in the Middle ended on May 14, 2006, Berfield concentrated on production work, although he made a one-off appearance in the series Sons of Tucson in 2010.

Charity work

In 2001, Berfield was asked to serve as a National Youth Ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities, in which he participated for three years until turning 18. He has been active with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and most recently Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of Virgin Group.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards