Justin Berfield
Encyclopedia
Justin Tyler Berfield is an American
actor
, writer
and producer
, best known for his portrayal as Malcolm's 2nd-oldest brother, Reese, in Malcolm in the Middle
. He also starred on The WB
sitcom Unhappily Ever After
as Ross Malloy.
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
. Virgin Produced is based in Los Angeles, California
.
, California
, the son of Gail Berfield (née Stark) 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 Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica stars Jessica Simpson
and Nick Lachey
.
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 (1994) in which he co-starred with Drew Carey
. The following year, at age nine, Berfield was among some 3000 juvenile actors who were tested for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
to play the young Anakin Skywalker, the role that ultimately went to Jake Lloyd
. More TV appearances followed in Hardball
, The Boys Are Back (TV series), The Mommies (TV series)
(1994–1995).
His first long-running TV role was as Ross Malloy in Unhappily Ever After
(1995–1999), in which he notched up 100 episode appearances. Beginning in 2000 he gained international prominence with his role as Malcolm's trouble-making older brother Reese in 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. Since the conclusion of Malcolm in the Middle in 2006, Berfield has concentrated on production work, although he made a one-off appearance in the series Sons of Tucson
in 2010.
and most recently Virgin Unite
, the charitable arm of Virgin Group
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, best known for his portrayal as Malcolm's 2nd-oldest brother, Reese, in Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
. He also starred on The WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
sitcom Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After is an American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB network from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of four and a half seasons...
as Ross Malloy.
As of 2010 Berfield is Chief Creative Officer of Virgin Produced
Virgin Produced
Virgin Produced is the film and television production division of the Virgin Group. The Chief Executive Officer is Jason Felts and Chief Creative Officer is Justin Berfield.The company was formed in 2010....
, a film and television development, packaging and production company announced in 2010 by the Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
. Virgin Produced is based in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Personal life
Berfield was born in Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the son of Gail Berfield (née Stark) and Eric "Rick" Berfield. He is the younger brother of actor Lorne Berfield. Berfield is Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
.
He bought and then later sold the house previously owned by Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica stars Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
and Nick Lachey
Nick Lachey
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Lachey is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and television personality. Lachey rose to fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. He later starred in the reality television series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released...
.
Acting career
Berfield's first screen appearance was in a FolgersFolgers
Folgers Coffee is a major brand of coffee in the United States, part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Co.-Company history:...
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 (1994) in which he co-starred with Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...
. The following year, at age nine, Berfield was among some 3000 juvenile actors who were tested for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
to play the young Anakin Skywalker, the role that ultimately went to Jake Lloyd
Jake Lloyd
Jake Lloyd is a former American actor , who gained worldwide fame when he was chosen by George Lucas to play the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the first film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and currently resides in Chicago. He reprised this role in five...
. More TV appearances followed in Hardball
Hardball (1994 TV series)
Hardball is an American baseball sitcom that aired on the Fox Network on Sunday nights from September 4, 1994 to October 23, 1994. Ironically the series premiered in the middle of the 1994-95 Major League Baseball strike and was canceled around the time that the year's World Series would have been...
, The Boys Are Back (TV series), The Mommies (TV series)
The Mommies (TV series)
The Mommies is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1993 to June 1995. Produced by Paramount Television, the series ran for two seasons with a total of 38 episodes.-Synopsis:...
(1994–1995).
His first long-running TV role was as Ross Malloy in Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After is an American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB network from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of four and a half seasons...
(1995–1999), in which he notched up 100 episode appearances. Beginning in 2000 he gained international prominence with his role as Malcolm's trouble-making older brother Reese in Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
. 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. Since the conclusion of Malcolm in the Middle in 2006, Berfield has concentrated on production work, although he made a one-off appearance in the series Sons of Tucson
Sons of Tucson
Sons of Tucson is a comedy television series starring Tyler Labine, Frank Dolce, Matthew Levy and Benjamin Stockham. It premiered on Fox on March 11, 2010...
in 2010.
Charity work
In 2001, Justin was asked to serve as a National Youth Ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities, in which he participated for 3 years until turning 18. He has been active with St. Jude Children's Research HospitalSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...
and most recently Virgin Unite
Virgin Unite
Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin Group and its hundreds of subsidiaries and associated...
, the charitable arm of Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Mom, Can I Keep Her? | Timmy Blair | |
| 1999 | Wanted | Flip | |
| 1999 | Bobby Taylor | ||
| 1999 | Invisible Mom II | Eddie Brown | |
| 2001 | Max Keeble's Big Move Max Keeble's Big Move Max Keeble's Big Move is a 2001 Disney live-action teen comedy film directed by Tim Hill, written by David L. Watts, James Greer, Jonathan Bernstein, and Mark Blackwell, and starring Alex D. Linz as the title character. The film is set in University Place, Washington. It was released in North... |
Caption Writer | Cameo appearance |
| 2003 | Who's Your Daddy? Who's Your Daddy? (film) Who's Your Daddy? is a 2003 comedy film directed by Andy Fickman.-Synopsis:Chris Hughes , an adopted and geeky Ohio high school senior discovers that his recently deceased birth parents are the proprietors of a vast pornography empire and he is the inherited heir... |
Danny Hughes | Cameo appearance |
Producer
- The Country BearsThe Country BearsThe Country Bears is a 2002 American live-action comedy film, produced by Walt Disney Pictures, based on the Disney attraction Country Bear Jamboree, and released July 26, 2002...
(2002) (Film) (co-producer) - Romance & CigarettesRomance & CigarettesRomance & Cigarettes is a 2005 American musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Turturro. The film stars an ensemble cast, including James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Christopher Walken,...
(2005) (Film) (co-producer) - Blonde AmbitionBlonde AmbitionBlonde Ambition is a film released in December 2007 and inspired by the theme of the Academy Award-winning movie Working Girl starring singer/actress Jessica Simpson playing the part of a small town girl who moves to New York City and rises up into a career as a business woman...
(2007) (Film) (producer)
Executive Producer
- Filthy Rich: Cattle DriveFilthy Rich: Cattle DriveFilthy Rich: Cattle Drive is an American reality television program that aired on the E! network in 2005. On E! Australia it aired as Rich Kids: Cattle Drive.-Synopsis:...
(2005) (TV) (executive producer) - The Pet Detective (2007) (TV) (executive producer)
- Sons of TucsonSons of TucsonSons of Tucson is a comedy television series starring Tyler Labine, Frank Dolce, Matthew Levy and Benjamin Stockham. It premiered on Fox on March 11, 2010...
(2010) (TV) (executive producer) (1 episode) - An Invisible Sign of My Own (2010) (Film) (executive producer)
- Pablo EscobarPablo EscobarPablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord. He was an elusive cocaine trafficker and rich and successful criminal. He owned numerous luxury residences, automobiles, and even airplanes...
(2010) (Film) (executive producer)
Television
- The Good Life as Bob Bowman (1994)
- HardballHardball (1994 TV series)Hardball is an American baseball sitcom that aired on the Fox Network on Sunday nights from September 4, 1994 to October 23, 1994. Ironically the series premiered in the middle of the 1994-95 Major League Baseball strike and was canceled around the time that the year's World Series would have been...
(1994) - The Boys Are Back (TV series) as Timmy Flint (1994)
- The Mommies (TV series)The Mommies (TV series)The Mommies is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1993 to June 1995. Produced by Paramount Television, the series ran for two seasons with a total of 38 episodes.-Synopsis:...
as Jason Booker (1994–1995) - Unhappily Ever AfterUnhappily Ever AfterUnhappily Ever After is an American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB network from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of four and a half seasons...
as Ross Malloy (1995–1999) - The Nightmare RoomThe Nightmare RoomThe Nightmare Room is an American children's anthology horror series that aired on Kids' WB. The series was based on the short-lived book series The Nightmare Room children's books created by Goosebumps author, R.L. Stine. The Nightmare Room originally aired from August 31, 2001, to March 16, 2002,...
as Josh Ryan (2001) - Malcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
as Reese (2000–2006) - Sons of TucsonSons of TucsonSons of Tucson is a comedy television series starring Tyler Labine, Frank Dolce, Matthew Levy and Benjamin Stockham. It premiered on Fox on March 11, 2010...
as Barry (1 episode, 2010) Episode #1.13
Voice work
- Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man (1996) 1 Episode
- Kim PossibleKim PossibleKim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
as Gill (2002–2004) 2 Episodes - The Fairly OddParentsThe Fairly OddParentsThe Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...
as Ving (2004) 1 Episode