‘Malcolm in the Middle’ star Frankie Muniz reveals why he briefly left Hollywood: 'People go down a bad path’
Frankie Muniz has joined the star-studded cast of VH1's reality TV series 'The Surreal Life.' The former child actor got candid about a possible 'Malcolm in the Middle' reboot with co-star Bryan Cranston.
In reflecting upon his life as a child star, actor Frankie Muniz made a unique admission about his drinking habits, or lack thereof. Muniz says not only has he never done drugs, but he hasn't ever tried alcohol either.
"There's times where I think back at the things I got to do when I was a child actor or… my early years of being an adult. And having stepped away from the entertainment world, from that business, kind of in the height of my career, like right when ['Malcom in the Middle'] ended... It allowed me to have a greater appreciation for life in general," he told former "Jeopardy!" host Mayim Bialik on her podcast.
"Little things, as dumb as it sounds, of like moving to Scottsdale in 2008, I think saved my life," he shared. "I'm 38. I've still never had a sip of alcohol. I've never done drugs. I've never done anything. So I don't mean in that sense… of like, 'Oh, I’m gonna go off the deep end' like so many child actors do. I meant, I realized when I moved here, that I started looking up… This is so cheesy… but like I look at the sky. I looked at the trees," he said of the transition away from Hollywood.
An immensely popular child actor, Frankie Muniz, now 38, says he's "never had a sip of alcohol." (Getty Images)
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Muniz famously starred in the titular role of "Malcolm in the Middle" for seven seasons. He would later leave Hollywood to pursue a career in race car driving, only to return to the industry.
"I started doing more life things. But in that sense, it made me look back at what I did in my past and have such a great appreciation for it that anything I do now, I dive in 100%. Because I don't want to look back at anything that I do and go, ‘Ah, I could have tried harder. I could have been nicer.’"
Muniz is quick to clarify that religion played no role in his decision not to drink. "I've tried to figure out why I didn't. 'Cause I don't have a reason," he told Bialik. "Maybe it goes back to my hatred toward time. When I was 15, 16 years old, I felt like I was so old. Like I had experienced so much. And I had experienced a lot in my life, in comparison to most 15- or 16-year-olds. But even though I was in the entertainment business, I never saw it. Meaning, the drug use, any of that stuff. I somehow just stayed away," he said of avoiding a turbulent path so many of his peers took.
Frankie Muniz starred as Malcolm Wilkerson in "Malcolm in the Middle" for seven seasons. (Steve Grayson/WireImage)
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I'm 38. I've still never had a sip of alcohol. I've never done drugs. I've never done anything.
"I grew up thinking the only people who smoked pot were criminals on ‘Cops.' I don't know why," he admitted. "At 18 years old was the first time that I was really kind of around it. And in my mind, going back to the time thing, I felt like I had made it so long without it, that I was kinda like, ‘I’m not gonna start now.'"
Muniz says his decision not to drink garnered a mixed bag of responses. "I couldn't believe everybody's reactions when I said, ‘Oh I don’t drink,'" he remembered. Muniz says people were "either appalled that I didn't drink or they'd be like…'Wow that's so strong of you.'"
Frankie Muniz says despite being a child actor, he was never directly exposed to drugs. (J. Merritt/FilmMagic)
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"I don't know if I made a conscious decision, but it just stuck with me that I just was never gonna drink or do anything," he reiterated.
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