(Photo by Jason Merritt/FilmMagic)
Time sure flies by quick! The hit series Malcom in the Middle first aired on January 9, 2000, and revolved around an 11-year-old genius named Malcom — played by Frankie Muniz — who’s trying to navigate his adolescence. Since then, the actor has paved his way through many different careerpaths. Keep reading to find out what he’s up to today!
Who Is Frankie Muniz?
Upon its premiere, Malcolm in the Middle made headway in the entertainment industry and landed Frankie an 2001 Emmy nomination for his role. The series was popular and adored by many, but ultimately met the same fate as many shows do (canceled). However, for Frankie, this was just the beginning of his career in Hollywood!
The actor would star in popular films and tv shows such as Big Fat Liar, Lizzie McGuire, Agent Cody Banks, and much more. However, looking back on his career, the actor struggled to remember his time in the industry. In 2017, when Frankie was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, he was asked about his recollection of filming on set for Malcom in the Middle. He revealed that the cause behind his memory loss was due to transient ischemic attacks (mini strokes) that first started in 2012.
He explained to People at the time,”It’s something that I never really wanted to talk about, because I’m just me and this is my life … But we were talking about Malcolm [in the Middle] and how it started, and I don’t really have memories of being on the show.”
What Is Frankie Muniz Doing Now?
In 2006, the actor put his career on hold to pursue his love for racing. What inspired his career change? In 2004, Frankie entered a celebrity race in Long Beach and won! He continued to compete in open-wheel racing up until 2009 when he suffered a severe back injury.
He shared with People, “My car flipped a bunch and I crashed into a wall. In the end, I broke my back, ankle, four ribs and my hand. My thumb was dangling by the skin.” Luckily this story has a happy ending!
After his accident, Frankie took some time to delve into other passions of his. “I thought I’d continue racing after, but I ended up joining a band and playing drums for them, touring all over the world continued his career in professional racing,” he explained in a interview with GQ.
When it comes to his love life, Frankie had a bit of a rocky start. After two past engagements, the actor settled down with Paige Price in 2016. The actress was a strong support system in his journey to help deal with his memory loss.
He explained on an episode of Dancing with the Stars, “I get sad at the thought of losing my memory, because I know that I do. So she writes literally in detail — she’s a writer too, so it works — like a journal that I can look at any day. It does bring me back there because there is really cool, amazing detail.”
The two tied the knot on February 21, 2020 and have since welcomed their first child together in March 2021!
As for his career, Frankie continued to feature in films all throughout the 2010’s. He landed roles on Sharkando 3, Another Day in Paradise, Destruction: Las Vegas, and many more. However, he never gave up on his love for racing.
In November 2023, Frankie completed his ARCA Menards Series for Rette Jones Racing, winning fourth in the series standings. He has also confirmed that he will be competing in the 2024 NASCAR season in an interview with Beyond the Flag. “I always had a desire to race NASCAR, even though it is so different from the style of racing I had done in my past, so I figured I’d throw myself off the deep end and see how it goes.”
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