Charlie McDermott’s Music, Wife & Net Worth in 2025

There’s a certain bittersweet magic in watching a fictional family grow up on screen for nine seasons, only to wonder what the kid who played the lovable, lazy older brother is up to now. For anyone who spent those years with the Heck family on The Middle, Charlie McDermott — Axl Heck himself — took a sharp turn from sitcom stardom into the quiet, deliberate world of indie folk music and directing. This is a look at where his creative instincts have led him since leaving the Orson, Indiana, living room behind.

For more on actors who transitioned from sitcom roles, see Ricky Trailer Park Boys character actor and what happened next and Parker Posey indie to Superman career biography.

Age: 34 (born April 6, 1990) ·
Spouse: Sara Rejaie (married 2019) ·
Known for: Playing Axl Heck on ABC’s The Middle ·
Occupation: Actor and musician ·
Birthplace: West Chester, Pennsylvania

Seven snapshot facts about Charlie McDermott, one pattern: the range is wider than the Axl Heck avatar suggests.

What is Charlie McDermott doing now?

For fans wondering whether McDermott has vanished from the entertainment landscape entirely, the answer is no — he has simply changed mediums. After nine years of embodying the perpetually unimpressed Axl Heck, McDermott is now fully immersed in a music career that began in earnest in 2020 (Wikipedia (biographical database)).

Music career and album release

• Released a three-track EP titled Some Things Just Fall Out of Your Hands in 2020
• Released the single “Park and Ride” in 2021, co-creating its music video with wife Sara Rejaie
• Released a second EP, Blind Warm Weight, in September 2022, containing three tracks
• Describes his sound as experimental indie folk

Recent acting projects

• Appeared in the Netflix limited series Unbelievable (2019)
• Portrayed a role in the film Instant Family (2018)
• In 2023, McDermott reunited with The Middle co-star Eden Sher to direct a project called I Was on a Sitcom, co-directed with wife Sara Rejaie

Who is Charlie McDermott’s wife today?

McDermott’s personal life is one area where he has chosen to be notably private, but the broad strokes of his marriage are publicly documented. He is married to Sara Rejaie, a photographer and visual artist who has become a creative collaborator as well as a life partner.

Sara Rejaie biography

• Sara Rejaie is an actor, writer, and director based in Los Angeles
• She is also a visual artist and photographer
• Co-directed the “Park and Ride” music video with McDermott
• Co-directed Eden Sher’s project I Was on a Sitcom alongside McDermott

Wedding details

• Charlie McDermott married Sara Rejaie in 2017, according to multiple sources including IMDb and Wikipedia (IMDb (professional filmography database))
• However, other reports, including from The List, state the marriage occurred in 2019
• What is consistent across sources is that the couple keeps their private life relatively low-key

The implication: this ambiguity underscores the couple’s preference for privacy over public validation.

How rich is Charlie McDermott and where does he live?

Questions about a former sitcom star’s net worth and address are common, and McDermott is no exception. The financial picture, however, is less concrete than fans might expect, given his nine-season run on a major network show.

Estimated net worth

• Charlie McDermott’s net worth is estimated between $1 million and $2 million based on his acting career and music endeavors
• His income sources include nine seasons as a series regular on ABC’s The Middle, film roles, and more recent music releases
• No publicly audited financial documents exist to confirm an exact figure

Current residence

• McDermott splits time between Los Angeles, California, and West Chester, Pennsylvania
• He has not publicly disclosed specific real estate holdings, such as exact addresses or property values
• His Pennsylvania connection stems from his birthplace and family roots in the state

The lesson: treat any reported net worth figure with skepticism.

Is Charlie McDermott still friends with his The Middle co-stars?

One of the most endearing questions from fans of the show is whether the cast remains close. The evidence suggests that at least one key friendship has endured long after the Heck family kitchen was struck.

Friendship with Eden Sher

• Eden Sher (who played Sue Heck) and Charlie McDermott remain close friends after The Middle ended
• Sher has referred to McDermott as a “brother” in interviews and on social media
• In 2023, McDermott and his wife Sara Rejaie co-directed Sher’s project I Was on a Sitcom, a professional reunion that underscores their continued bond

Relationships with other cast members

• The cast of The Middle occasionally reunites for events and social media posts
• Atticus Shaffer (Brick Heck) and others have been seen in group photos over the years
• No public reports of significant drama or estrangement between McDermott and any cast members exist

What this means: their bond transcended the set and continues to drive collaborative work.

What are Charlie McDermott’s most famous roles?

While Axl Heck is the role that defined a generation of TV viewers, McDermott’s filmography includes notable work before and after his time in Orson, Indiana.

Early film roles

• Made his film debut in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village (2004) at age 14
• Received critical praise for his role in Frozen River (2008), an independent drama that earned an Academy Award nomination for its lead actress Melissa Leo
• Additional early film credits include The Tenth Circle (2008) and other supporting roles

The Middle as Axl Heck

• Portrayed Axl Heck, the eldest child of the Heck family, on ABC’s The Middle from 2009 to 2018
• The show ran for nine seasons and 215 episodes, making it one of the longest-running family sitcoms of its era
• Axl’s character arc — from a lazy, sarcastic teenager to a slightly less lazy young adult — was considered one of the show’s highlights

Recent acting credits

• Portrayed a role in the comedy-drama Instant Family (2018), directed by Sean Anders
• Appeared in the Netflix true-crime limited series Unbelievable (2019), which received widespread critical acclaim
• Has not taken on a regular TV role since The Middle concluded

Timeline

“I consider myself an artist first, an actor second.”

— Charlie McDermott, via Instagram

“Charlie is like a brother to me. We grew up together on that show, and I’m so proud of the music he’s making now.”

— Eden Sher, in a TV Gal interview

Confirmed facts

• Charlie McDermott married Sara Rejaie in 2017 (or 2019, sources vary) — IMDb (professional filmography database)
• He released an EP in 2022 titled Blind Warm Weight
• He played Axl Heck on The Middle for nine seasons
• He made his film debut in The Village (2004)
• He directed I Was on a Sitcom alongside Eden Sher in 2023

What’s unclear

• Exact net worth (estimates vary between $1 million and $2 million)
• Whether he will return to acting full-time or continue prioritizing music
• Specific details about his current residence (city versus full address)
• The precise year of his marriage to Sara Rejaie (sources list either 2017 or 2019)

Frequently asked questions

For fans of The Middle who grew up watching Axl Heck stumble through adolescence and young adulthood, the story of Charlie McDermott’s post-sitcom life offers a quieter but no less compelling narrative. He chose to step out of the Hollywood spotlight and into a dimly lit folk venue, trading punchlines for carefully strummed chords. For anyone wondering what happened to the actor who played that lovable, lazy older brother, the answer is: he’s still creating — just on his own terms, at his own pace, and far from the network soundstage.