Malcolm in the Middle first aired 16 years ago, on January 11, 2000. The show, focused on four midwestern adolescent brothers, had lots of potential to create some catastrophic child stars. Frankie Muniz, who played the titular character, seemed most poised for some sort of horrible drug problem or publicly disastrous romance. Against the odds, that didn’t happen to Muniz, or any of his co-stars. In fact the worst thing that can be said of any of them is that Christopher Masterson, who played Reese, is a Scientologist.

Since he hasn’t turned to drugs or any other vices typical of former child stars, what does Frankie Muniz do with his day?

Frankie Muniz before Malcolm in the Middle

Born in New Jersey in 1985, Frankie Muniz moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, when he was four. When Muniz was 8, he played Tiny Tim in a local production of A Christmas Carol, establishing his typecast as feeble and neurotic at a young age.

After his parents separated, Muniz moved with his mom to Burbank, California. When he was 11, he was in two made-for-TV movies, To Dance with Olivia and What the Deaf Man Heard. The next year in 1998, he was in two episodes of Michael J. Fox’s sitcom, Spin City. He was also in an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch the following year.

Frankie Muniz’s first prominent role was in the 2000 film My Dog Skip, with Kevin Bacon. 2000 was also when Muniz first played boy-genius Malcolm, in what was originally a mid-season replacement for Fox. Malcolm in the Middle would run for seven seasons, with the first season maintaining a 88 on Metacritic, indicating “universal acclaim.” At the time, it was one of the few prime-time sitcoms which did not have a studio audience or laugh track, and the only Fox sit-com still shot on film instead of with digital video. The show is also notable for Jane Kaczmarek having earned a nomination for an Emmy every season, with the show accruing a total of 7 Emmy wins. Muniz was nominated for a single Emmy, and two Golden Globes.

After Malcolm in the Middle

Starting in 2002, Muniz began to explore a career in feature film. He played the lead role in Big Fat Liar, across Amanda Bynes and with Paul Giamati. In 2004, he would play the titular character in Agent Cody Banks, across from Hilary Duff. That year he also was a celebrity participant in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach, and the next year finished third (and first among celebrity participants.) In 2006, he signed a two year contract as a driver with Jensen Motorsport.

In 2007, after Malcolm in the Middle ended, Muniz moved to outside Phoenix, Arizona, and began to develop his career as a racing driver. He also began dating Elycia Marie, who owns a clothing line. Frankie Muniz moved from the Formula BMW USA season to the Champ Car Atlantic Series, where he accrued enough points to rank as 22nd.

Over the next few years Muniz continued to develop his career as a race car driver, moving to Pacific Coast Motorsports after his contract with Jensen ended. At the end of the 2008 season, Muniz won the Jovy Marcelo award, voted on by other drivers to commend sportsmanship. He also told People that year that he “[didn’t] want to sound conceited, but [he didn’t] think there has been an actor or celebrity-turned-racecar driver that has made it as high up in the racecar circuit as [he has].” It is certainly a good thing he didn’t want to sound conceited, since both Paul Newman and Steve McQueen have excelled far further in racing that he has.

In 2009, Muniz was at the height of his racing career, finishing in the top ten for each race he participated in. Unfortunately, an injury to his wrist disqualified him from finishing the season.

In 2012, Frankie Muniz joined Kingsfoil, a Pennsylvania-based alternative rock band, as their drummer. Muniz had been drumming since he was a child, and excelled with the band. Later that year, he was hospitalized after having a transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke). A year later, almost to the day, he had another attack. In 2014, Muniz left Kingsfoil due to scheduling conflicts, though there are no other projects Muniz is known to be a part of that would keep him so busy.

Frankie Muniz Now in 2018 – What’s He Doing

Most of Frankie Muniz’s publicity these days comes from his Twitter feed, which is surprisingly mundane for a celebrity. He criticizes politicians, live-tweets watching romantic comedies, and complains about poor circulation, just like any of us. In October, 2015, Muniz made a couple tweets to gauge interest in a potential Malcolm in the Middle reboot, Malcolm in the Mid-Life Crisis. When asked for details, he made it clear he was just asking, and had no serious plans to make the show.



Most recently, Frankie Muniz made headlines by putting up one of his many cars up for sale: the Volkswagen Jetta used by the late Paul Walker in 2001’s Fast and Furious.

