Why You Won't See Frankie Muniz's Son Acting Anytime Soon
Frankie Muniz was shot into stardom as a child actor, being most known for the leading role in the 2000s sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle." Following the success of the series, Muniz starred in notable movies like "Big Fat Liar" and "Agent Cody Banks" alongside fellow teen actors like Amanda Bynes and Hilary Duff.
While he was one of the most successful child actors of his time, the Hollywood star has admitted that he doesn't want his son to follow in his footsteps. "I will never let my kid go into the business," he told Pedestrian TV in March 2024. "And not that I had a negative experience because, to be honest, my experience was 100 percent positive but I know so many people, friends that were close to me, that had such insanely negative experiences."
Muniz and his wife Paige Price welcomed their son Mauz in March 2021. The New Jersey native took to Instagram to celebrate the birth, posting an adorable picture of the newborn. "World, meet my son Mauz Mosley Muniz. He was born on March 22nd at 11:15 AM," Muniz captioned the photo. "Honestly, I didn't know it was possible to love anything as much as I love him."
The star also knows that the acting world is harsh
Frankie Muniz has explained that he's well aware of the bad experiences of his fellow child actors, the likes of which were revealed on the Nickelodeon docuseries "Quiet on Set." While this is a pretty major reason to keep his son from joining the world of show business, it's not the only one. "I never cared about rejection," he said during his interview with Pedestrian TV. "But there's a ton of rejection."
This rejection goes hand-in-hand with how difficult it is to break into acting, something the Hollywood figure says requires a lot of luck. "I truly say that becoming a successful actor is like winning the lottery," Muniz continued. "There's a million people in Hollywood who try who won't even [be successful] — maybe they're amazing actors. They could be the best actors on the planet, but they don't even get the opportunity."
For his part, Muniz landed his first acting role in a local production of "A Christmas Carol," playing Tiny Tim for three years. From there, he eventually moved to commercial work and made-for-TV movies before scoring the leading role of Malcolm Wilkerson. Still, he doesn't seem to attribute this success to personal merit. "You know, me getting 'Malcolm in the Middle,' maybe that was a little different than other shows," he said. "But like as a child actor, you get picked because you look like you could be the kid of the parents they picked."
Stepping away from show business was beneficial to Muniz
Frankie Muniz was one of those TV stars who we didn't see following the end of their sitcom, with the actor taking a step back from show business following the finale of "Malcolm in the Middle" in 2006. While the child star has expressed an appreciation for his early success, he's acknowledged how much getting out of the industry was beneficial to him as a person.
"There's times where I think back at the things I got to do when I was a child actor," Muniz said on an episode of Mayim Bialik's podcast. "And having stepped away from the entertainment world, from that business, kind of in the height of my career, like, right when 'Malcolm' ended ... it allowed me to have a greater appreciation for life in general."
Leaving the industry also allowed him to explore different ventures, with Muniz committing to his longstanding passion for racecar driving after the birth of his son. While the former "Malcolm in the Middle" star has undoubtedly benefited from his early acting success, we don't blame him for wanting to shield his son from the chaotic world of show business.