Erik Per Sullivan (born July 12, 1991) is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Dewey, the younger brother to middle child Malcolm, on the FOX series, Malcolm in the Middle.
One of his many roles includes playing the main character, a child, in the movie Wendigo. Sullivan also played the only child in the movie Unfaithful and played an orphaned child in The Cider House Rules. He was also in the movie Christmas with the Kranks, playing the character of Spike. He played young Joe Dirt in the film of the same name. In the movie Finding Nemo, he voiced Sheldon the Seahorse. He is currently starring as the title role in the independent film Mo.
He co-starred in Malcolm in the Middle from 2000-2006. In 2005, he joined co-star Jane Kaczmarek in writing the afterword to a children’s book called Together, which shows the importance of livestock in the world, and was inspired by the mission of the nonprofit charitable organization Heifer International.
Toward the end of June 2006, he was seen in a specially made advertisement for the airing of the last episode of Malcolm in the Middle on Sky One in the UK. It was then announced after the airing on July 2 that a special program called Dewey’s Therapy Sessions would be showing on July 9, featuring Sullivan.
Sullivan was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the only child of Ann and Fred Sullivan; his mother is from Sweden. He currently lives in Milford, Massachusetts, where his family owns a Mexican restaurant called “The Alamo.” He speaks fluent Swedish, English, and studies Japanese.
Sullivan plays piano and alto saxophone and studies taekwondo, in which he has earned a first-degree black belt. He attended M.S.C.A. for his education and music lessons.
He currently attends high school at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire and will be a senior this fall.
