(Power Rankings sum up: Each week, we’ll pick a television show and rank the actors/actresses/contestants/correspondents/etc. based on what they’ve done after the series ended (unless we’re ranking a current series, in which case we’ll have to bend the rules). Preference will be given to more recent work, but if the work was a long time ago, but much more important/relevant, that will be factored in as well)
We’re on a bit of a dip in these power rankings as for two consecutive weeks it turns out children who star in sitcoms aren’t often so successful afterwards. I thought about throwing in a side character or two, but it’s not like any of them have much to write home about. Admittedly it has only been five years since the show ended, but it doesn’t exactly seem like any of the younger actors have much momentum. Alas, at least this show had one star who’s made something of a career for himself afterwards.
6. Erik Per Sullivan (as Dewey) – It’s way too weird to think that Dewey is currently 20. That said, his acting career hasn’t exactly taken off as he’s gotten older. He appeared in an independent film called Mo in 2007 and in Joel Schumacher film Twelve in 2010.
5. Justin Berfield (as Reese) – He was in one episode of Sons of Tuscon. That’s it for acting. However, he’s been more active as a producer, executively producing the short-lived Sons of Tuscon and now working as Chief Creative Officer of Virgin Produced, the television and film arm of Virgin Group.
4. Frankie Muniz (as Malcolm) – Muniz hasn’t done so much acting in the years since Malcolm in the Middle – he was a serial killer in a Criminal Minds episode, and he had a cameo as Buddy Holly in Walk Hard. That said, he’s probably the only actor to participate in open-wheel racing, where he competed in the Atlantic Championship in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
3. Christopher Masterson (as Francis) – I knew this particular power ranking was not going to be the most fruitful, but I didn’t realize it was going to be this bad. Masterson co-starred in independent films The Art of Travel, Made for Each Other, and Impulse and appeared in a White Collar episode.
2. Jane Kaczmarek (as Lois) – Immediately after Malcolm ended, she co-starred in short-lived Ted Danson sitcom Help Me Help You. A couple of years later she starred as Judge Trudy Kessler for the two season TNT legal drama Raising the Bar. In 2010, she was in Lifetime movie Reviving Ophelia. She appeared on an episode of Wilfred, portrays Whitney Cummings’ mom on new series Whitney and has appeared multiple times in The Simpsons as Judge Constance Harm.
1. Bryan Cranston (as Hal) –Cranston has been quite busy since Malcolm ended, but even if he hadn’t, he’d be on top of this list because of two words – Breaking Bad. Cranston has starred for four seasons as chemistry-teacher-turned-meth-maker Walter White, who has quickly become one of the great characters in television history. Breaking Bad has received acclaim from all corners and each season moves up in the all-time television pantheon. For what it’s worth, he’s won three emmys for the role so far. Cranston portrayed Ted’s boss in How I Met Your Mother in two episodes. He appeared in ABC Family miniseries Fallen. He also had supporting roles in 2011 movies The Lincoln Lawyer, Larry Crowne, Contagion and Drive.
Television, the Drug of the Nation 