What Happened to Frankie Muniz – 2024 News & Updates

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 In 2024 – What’s He Doing Now?

Frankie Muniz recently appeared in an episode of the NBC medical drama New Amsterdam, where he played the role of Jace, the brother of one of the patients at the hospital. He has also made guest appearances in the TV shows The Rookie, Total Bellas, and Harley Quinn.

In terms of the big screen, he last appeared in the psychological horror thriller movie, The Black String, alongside Chelsea Edmundson, Cullen Douglas, Ravi Patel, and Colby French, which came out in 2019.

Not only that, but he also hosted the reality competition series Dancing with the Stars: Junior in 2018 (he had competed in the series himself back in 2017). He was also a contestant on Name That Tune earlier this year.

Aside from that, he’s also a professional race car driver. Last year, he made his stock car racing debut at Kern County Raceway Park, where he drove an SRL Pro Late Model series. And earlier this year, he took part in the ARCA Menards Series test, where he drove the No. 01 Ford.

In 2018, he and his wife also bought a small specialty shop called Outrageous Olive Oils & Vinegars in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to an interview, his wife handled the social media and inventory while he dealt with the logistics.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the couple sold the store, with his wife’s pregnancy being the main reason for the sale. Their son named Mauz was later born on March 22, 2021.

If you’d like to stay up to date with the Malcolm in the Middle star, consider following him on social media. Frankie Muniz has an active Instagram page (@frankiemuniz4) with over 521K followers as well as a Twitter account (@frankiemuniz) with more than 328K followers. His official Facebook page is also updated on a regular basis.