- 6 weeks ago
Frankie Muniz looks back on his acting career and the iconic projects that made him a household name — from ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ and ‘Big Fat Liar’ to ‘Agent Cody Banks,’ ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and more.
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00:00You definitely do build a relationship with the cast.
00:04It's about Malcolm.
00:05I didn't do it. Yes, he did. I saw him.
00:07You feel like family. You spend so much time together, especially the boys.
00:10We had to do school together, especially the first couple of years.
00:12They had us in the same room. Then they ended up separating us.
00:14We had our own tutors just because we weren't getting any work done.
00:17I spent more time with them than I did with my real family.
00:19So you have that element of a true brotherhood.
00:24It's just so wild to see all the photos.
00:26This photo was the first photo shoot that we did as a family, as a cast.
00:32You definitely, in that moment, I had no idea, obviously, what the show would become
00:37or the success that it would have.
00:39A teacher from school came by and she ran some tests with Malcolm.
00:44He has an IQ of 165.
00:46You know, especially to be now 20 years since the show ended.
00:51And over the last 20 years, I've had tons, millions of people come up to me
00:55and tell me how much the show impacted them and how much they appreciate it.
01:01And it's given me such a greater appreciation to see all these photos,
01:04to know that I was a part of something that meant a lot to people and still to this day.
01:09But yeah, that's our first photo, 100th episode.
01:12I think this was at the Emmys, the year I was nominated.
01:16Yeah, lots of fun memories for sure.
01:19Malcolm, he's a genius. He's going to special class.
01:22What?
01:23Malcolm's special?
01:24When we filmed the pilot, you know, obviously I was just so excited to be cast as Malcolm.
01:29Like, it's like a dream come true.
01:30And then you get to meet who's going to play your brothers, right?
01:32Who's going to play your mom and dad.
01:34A memory I definitely have is the day I met Bryan Cranston, which was the first day of filming.
01:38He was the last person to be cast, I think it was even that morning.
01:43They, like, finalized it and brought him in.
01:45And the first scene we filmed is from the pilot where Jane or Lois is shaving Hal's back.
01:53And he came in in like a skin-colored Speedo and was like,
01:58Hey, boys, I'm going to be your dad.
02:00And, you know, obviously pretty awkward.
02:02But, you know, in that moment, Hal originally was supposed to be like such a small character in the show.
02:09Like, it was going to be kind of like almost an afterthought.
02:11But Bryan is such an incredible actor and made the show, I think.
02:15Arms up.
02:18Dude.
02:19We were always running behind the scenes, kind of trying to prank people.
02:23We did do a thing for a long time where, like, we had like the clothespins and we'd like pin
02:29them on everybody's backs.
02:30You know, stuff like that.
02:31Like, you know, see how many you can get on before people realized.
02:33We played the circle game like that.
02:35You know, it was actually an episode of Malcolm.
02:38And like that on set, everybody was doing it.
02:41Like, we had so many bruises on our arms because, you know, we'd actually punch hard.
02:44You know what I mean?
02:45It wasn't like, oh, gotcha.
02:46Like, it was, you know, yes, I get to hit you.
02:48Like you would your brother.
02:49There was a foosball table for a while and we had like intense foosball battles.
02:55And then they got a ping pong table.
02:56And that was like a bad idea because you couldn't get us off the ping pong table to actually film.
03:00You know, because we were just like in these severe like tournaments.
03:03We probably could have gone pro.
03:04Oh, it was awesome for sure.
03:05Our families are coming with us.
03:08They'll be with us forever.
03:10In our habits, our gestures, and in the choices we make.
03:15Like, I know we got told maybe a month before we actually wrapped that it was, that was it.
03:22That we were, this was going to be the last season.
03:24So we knew.
03:25And I appreciated that.
03:27Like, I was actually, I remember being happy to know rather than like going into hiatus and then finding out
03:33later.
03:33So like you could almost prep that it was the end.
03:36You know what I mean?
03:37But I also remember like it didn't have any effect on me like I thought it would until literally the
03:45last shot of the last day.
03:47Like I looked around at all the cast because we were all there.
03:50And I want to say two or three hundred of the crew members from over the seven years had come
03:56in.
03:57Right?
03:57And everyone was there.
03:58And it was a close up on me.
03:59And it was a really emotional scene in general.
04:01I remember starting crying when they like started rolling.
04:04And I wasn't, it wasn't for the scene.
04:05But it worked really, really well for the moment.
04:07But yeah, I, it was really hard obviously to say goodbye.
04:11Like it hit you in that moment of like, wait, everything I've known for most of my life.
04:15You know, like the years I remember at least is ending.
04:18It's going away.
04:19And you never think you're going to have the opportunity again.
04:22Right?
04:22To recreate that.
04:24To be with the people again.
04:25I remember Jane and I, we had a wrap party on the sound stage, you know, maybe a week later.
04:30Right?
04:31And they had cleaned up the house.
04:33Like they had changed it.
04:34They tried to like dress it up for the party.
04:36Right?
04:36It wasn't as dirty as Malcolm's family's house was.
04:39And Jane and I were the last people to leave the sound stage.
04:44Like we couldn't leave.
04:45It was really a interesting, interesting moment.
04:47But, you know, to get to come back.
04:49Right?
04:49Like this photo is from when we were filming the reboot.
04:52Like this is from the reboot.
04:54Just surreal.
04:56To be able to be back in that world and get to play the character again.
04:59This family's non-stop anti-social behavior and mindless myopic priorities are toxic to me.
05:05I wouldn't say I was nervous, but I was curious how the dynamic would be.
05:10Right?
05:10Like if it would be like the same vibe or the character wise, how everybody was going to be in
05:17the roles and stuff like that.
05:18And like, I know it's probably cliche to say like it was as if no time went by.
05:23It honestly, it was creepy.
05:24Like we all, even the table read.
05:26Like the first time we read the script together, immediately we were like, oh no.
05:30Like no time had passed.
05:32It was, we were dying laughing.
05:35You know, it was awesome.
05:36It's only four episodes, right?
05:37So it was a fairly quick shoot.
05:39I think six weeks or so.
05:40I remember rapping and being so proud of what we had done.
05:44And I had so much fun.
05:46And not that I didn't have fun in the past as an actor, but like I just kind of did
05:49it.
05:49It was something I did.
05:50I had such a good time.
05:52It was the first time in my career that I was happy to like put the label actor next to
05:57my name.
05:58I have always kind of thought like, oh yeah, I act, but I'm not an actor.
06:02I'm not like them.
06:02You know what I mean?
06:03But I was so proud to be an actor because of what we did on the show.
06:06And I hope, I hope people love it.
06:09Oh, nice.
06:10My dog Skip.
06:11We actually filmed this before Malcolm in the Middle.
06:14They came out about the same time.
06:16But you know, this was probably my first big project that I was a part of as like the lead
06:21or, you know,
06:22feature film, Warner Brothers film, magical film in this movie.
06:43We filmed it in, in Canton, Mississippi.
06:47Oh man.
06:48Just working with Enzo, that's Enzo the dog.
06:50He was Moose's son, which was the dog from Frasier.
06:54And actually Moose was the dog when Skip is older.
06:58But I did so much training with the dog, right?
07:00Like I remember going to the house that the trainer lived in.
07:05And we just wanted to have a really good, like the dog to like me.
07:08You know what I mean?
07:08And trust me and, and have a good relationship.
07:11And I, just amazing.
07:15I remember my mom being really excited about Kevin Bacon.
07:20I didn't really know who Kevin Bacon was at the time.
07:22But like even that Diane Lane, like to see them now and know like that I was in a film
07:26with them.
07:27Of course, Skip.
07:32This is probably one of my most proud movies I got to do.
07:39It was the first one I did, but I, I love everything about it.
07:42Um, Caitlin walks.
07:44She played Rivers Applegate, I think was her name.
07:47I had the biggest crush on her.
07:48I'm not going to lie when we filmed the movie.
07:51Um, never told her that.
07:52But here we are 40 years later, whatever it is.
07:55Uh, just so you know, I had a big crush on you.
07:57It was pretty amazing.
07:59This is Big Fat Liar with Paul Giamatti, Amanda Bynes.
08:04This was almost like a, I want to say a full circle moment in a sense.
08:09Is that, I don't know if that's the saying, but like as an actor, when I was first starting acting
08:13as like a child actor and doing theater and I was in New York City, you know, doing commercials and
08:18doing small films and theater and stuff like that.
08:20My dream was to be on the Nickelodeon show, all that, or the Amanda show, because I thought it was
08:28so funny.
08:29They were so good.
08:30Amanda was incredible.
08:32So when I got the call from the producers and Universal about doing Big Fat Liar and it was going
08:38to be with Amanda Bynes.
08:39Like that was like the ultimate, like I was, I couldn't have been more excited.
08:44And the film is so fun.
08:46What kind of sick world is this?
08:48When children need an appointment to see their own father?
08:52Mr. Wolf doesn't have children.
08:55Not that he knows of.
08:57Shhh.
08:58Before I knew I was going to do the film, another person, I'm going to be honest, had a massive
09:02crush on.
09:03There's a theme here.
09:04But I got asked to co-host the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in the year 2000.
09:10And the kids choice for favorite TV actress is Amanda Bynes.
09:15Hi.
09:18Oh my God.
09:18I'm so excited.
09:19And that like, once again, as a kid, like, I'm like, I'm going to get slimed.
09:24This is going to be amazing.
09:25This is going to be the best time of my life.
09:27I'm going to meet Amanda Bynes.
09:28And, um, I remember my mom getting a call, you know, maybe a month before.
09:34And she's like freaking out on the phone.
09:35She's all excited.
09:36And she came down and she's like, you just got asked to host Saturday Night Live.
09:43And I'm like, what's that?
09:44Yeah, I didn't really know.
09:45Right.
09:45I was a kid.
09:46And she's like, it's a big deal.
09:47It's always this cool thing.
09:48I go, what's the date?
09:49And it was the same date as the date I was supposed to host the kids choice.
09:55And I was like, nope, not doing it.
09:57You know, I was like, I'm a man of principle.
09:59I committed to Nickelodeon that I am, I'm going to co-host it.
10:03They've been advertising it.
10:04I can't let them down.
10:05But really deep down, I just wanted to meet Amanda Bynes.
10:07So, um, uh, yeah, that's, that's the truth.
10:09I'm the, I think the only person in history to turn down hosting Saturday Night Live.
10:13And, uh, I'm still, you know, question that, that, that decision now 30 years later.
10:18Come on, help me out.
10:19What am I supposed to do?
10:19How about write the paper?
10:21Do it.
10:22No.
10:23Do it.
10:23No.
10:24Harry Shepherd's office.
10:25One moment, please.
10:26We had such an amazing friendship.
10:29You know what I mean?
10:30Like we really got along great.
10:31I actually remember being fairly intimidated by her on set because she was just so naturally
10:37funny.
10:38I wasn't really someone who did a lot of ad-libbing or, and all that kind of stuff.
10:42Like on Malcolm, you know, Linwood Boomer and the directors, like they knew how they wanted
10:47it and they kind of said, here's how we want you to do it.
10:49And that's it.
10:50Like you didn't really play around that much.
10:51Not that I wasn't good at it.
10:53I just wasn't, it wasn't what I did all the time.
10:55And she was so good.
10:57You know, I, I remember that.
10:58And I remember Paul Giamatti, he was always wearing these like crazy high end.
11:03And I think these were Prada shoes and at the whole like last 20 minutes of the movie,
11:08which took, let's, you know, a long time to film.
11:10It's a lot of scenes, lots, lots of stuff going on.
11:12We're just running and upstairs.
11:14And, and I remember he had like crazy blisters from running in these shoes.
11:19That's my memory of Paul Giamatti.
11:20Just him just crying in pain that we had to do more takes running away from each other.
11:25But no, just an absolute blast for sure.
11:28Nice.
11:29Agent Cody Banks.
11:30Got Agent Cody Banks 1 with Angie Harmon, Hilary Duff.
11:35Anthony Anderson was in Agent Cody Banks 2 with me in London.
11:40Yeah, it's amazing.
11:42Eat your burger.
11:47Come on.
11:48Hilary and I actually, she was one of the first friends I had in LA.
11:54She was living at like the Oakwood apartments, which is where all the, I don't want to say just child
11:59actors,
11:59but a lot of people come for pilot seasons and stuff.
12:01And they stay in the Oakwoods, kind of centrally located in Burbank area.
12:04And I used to go there all the time just because I knew so many people who lived there.
12:08And, and we became really, really good friends.
12:10It was before she had Lizzie McGuire.
12:12You know, I was on Malcolm at the time, but like it was still really new.
12:15And we'd become really, really close.
12:17And I was on an episode of her show on Lizzie McGuire.
12:20You know, I was, uh, got to, got to do the film with her and had a blast.
12:24We're okay here, nurse.
12:25Uh, we don't need any help.
12:27I see here in your papers that your birthday is coming up.
12:29You know, that's none of your business, nurse.
12:32I will say this Angie Harmon and I, I don't think I've had a, like a, a more fun, better
12:38friend on a set than me and Angie Harmon,
12:41which was kind of a weird dynamic, right?
12:42Cause like she was at the time, I think she was 30, which I thought was so old, not old,
12:47but you know what I mean?
12:47Now that I'm 40, I'm like, Oh, she was just a kid.
12:49Um, and I was maybe 15 or 16, but we had, we, I've never laughed more than I laughed with
12:55Angie Harmon.
12:56We had just such, such a fun time on that film and then obviously Anthony Anderson in a, in a
13:01different capacity of, of just being absolutely hilarious.
13:11I remember with Anthony, it was just really hard to not like break character and laugh all the time.
13:17He's so over the top in the greatest way possible.
13:21Like just committed.
13:22Right.
13:22You know, I, I could never like just let myself go like that.
13:26Like he does.
13:27And, uh, yeah, it was, it was amazing.
13:29I feel like every kid, every young teen would want to be like a junior James Bond and I got
13:36to do it.
13:36I think like the tagline was like, uh, pass math, get the girl, save the world or something like that.
13:43You know, like pretty, you know, I don't know.
13:45It's pretty cool.
13:46I got to do that.
13:46You know, I, I, I got to save the world twice.
13:49I mean, that's, that's pretty cool.
13:51Oh, wow.
13:52I haven't thought about this movie in a long time.
13:55This is the movie stay alive.
13:57Um, which I don't know if many of you guys know is it was a horror film.
14:01I filmed in new Orleans, Sophia Bush, John Foster, some are on Armstrong.
14:08This was really the first thing that I did.
14:11You know, my dark skip obviously was like a dramatic movie, but like, you know, and it, but it was
14:15still like a more family for kids for kids movie.
14:18This was the first different kind of genre, darker role that I played.
14:31I can say this when we filmed the movie, we filmed that even darker movie than what ended up coming
14:37out.
14:38You know what I mean?
14:39It like we were filming like an NC 17 horror and they made it like a PG 13 horror.
14:44So it definitely changed from what I thought we were making.
14:48But like, I remember our time in new Orleans.
14:50This was like, I want to say a few months before Katrina, as far as an entire cast, like us
14:58getting together outside of filming.
15:00Like we went to sushi all the time. We were in the French Quarter all the time.
15:03Um, I, uh, I met actually my first fiance.
15:07That's a weird thing to say, but during this film, you know what I mean?
15:10Uh, in new Orleans and I don't know, I've amazing memories of it.
15:15Sophia, I had a dog named patch and he was a one eyed pit bull.
15:20And I was traveling so much and she ended up watching the dog a lot.
15:25Like I was just always gone with whatever I was doing.
15:28And I got a call from, she was married to Chad Michael Murray and I got a call from him.
15:31And she's like, he was like, um, all that Sophia wants for her birthday is your dog.
15:39And they lived on a farm in North Carolina.
15:42And she's, he's like, what do I got to do to like, you know, make that happen?
15:46And I, uh, it sounds cruel, but it was the, it was the best thing for the dog.
15:50Um, I gave Sophia Bush, my dog to live on this giant farm in, in North Carolina and, you know,
15:57had a, had a great life.
15:58Patch had a way better life with Sophia on her farm in North Carolina when they were filming One Tree
16:04Hill than,
16:04did with me traveling all over the world, you know, doing whatever I was doing.
16:09Oh, wow.
16:10This is one of my favorite photos in the world.
16:13This photo of, this is from Deuces Wild.
16:15It's Steven Dorff, Brad Renfro.
16:18That's, uh, Johnny Knoxville before he was Johnny Knoxville was in this.
16:21James Franco.
16:23A movie called Deuces Wild, uh, set in New York, like, you know, kind of gang, like, you know, 1950s
16:30gang movie.
16:32I wanna fight with you guys tonight.
16:34Scooch, why don't you get out of here?
16:35Come on, I can do it.
16:37You can't, you're too little.
16:38No, go.
16:39I can help you.
16:40No!
16:40It was a very adult set, if that makes sense.
16:44Like, I was the only kid.
16:45I was the only person underage, you know what I mean?
16:49And they really got into the characters, right?
16:51Like, they were playing that, like, tough New York, you know, uh, vibe.
16:55And, um, it was just very, I remember it was a very different feeling from anything I'd ever been on.
17:01Just because I felt like a kid.
17:03Where everywhere else, like, even though I was a kid on set, like, I felt like I was just one
17:07of the, like, everybody.
17:08I don't know.
17:09It's kind of hard to explain.
17:10But that's one of my favorite photos.
17:11I have this photo, actually, in my office.
17:12It's probably one of the only photos I have from any project I was on in my house.
17:16As odd as that is.
17:17You guys just think it's weird to have photos of yourself in your house.
17:19But that one's in my office.
17:21This kid was disrespecting our turf.
17:23I think he's one of them Garfield boys or something.
17:25This ain't a Garfield boy.
17:27I don't even know Pee Wees.
17:28This is Betty Ann's little brother.
17:30I just remember it being really intense.
17:33Like, but the movie is, right?
17:34There's lots of, like, fight scenes and everyone's angry and fighting.
17:37And the gangs, you know, the rival gangs.
17:39And, like, I just, it felt, I don't know.
17:43Like, when they said cut, like, I still felt that tension, if that makes sense.
17:46I don't know if they were just, like, you know, really into the characters.
17:49Or they were just jerks.
17:50I don't know.
17:51I can't distinguish which one.
17:52So, sorry.
17:53I don't know which one it is.
17:56This is Stuck On You.
17:58They called me, like, kind of last minute.
18:01Like, we had this really funny idea.
18:02Because Cher, she's known for, like, always dating younger people.
18:06You know what I mean?
18:07And they're like, we think it'd be really funny if, like, she's talking about her boyfriend.
18:10How he's younger.
18:11And it's you, like, in bed with her.
18:13And I remember going on set.
18:15We filmed it in Miami with the Farrelly brothers.
18:18And I remember walking on set.
18:22And I don't think Cher knew, maybe she didn't know who I was at all at the time.
18:27I'm not sure.
18:28But she was like, yo, you are way younger than I was anticipating.
18:32I think I was maybe 16 or 17.
18:43What?
18:44Go to sleep.
18:45You got a geography test tomorrow.
18:47They did cut out the whole scene.
18:49The whole scene, like, you know, she gets mad at me because, like, I'm laughing at, you know, the people
18:54that she's mad at on the TV or whatever.
18:55And, like, I, like, start spooning her.
18:58They cut out the spooning.
18:59But I literally spooned Cher.
19:01It was pretty cool to me.
19:02And then this one here is Walk Hard, the Dewey Cox story with John C. Reilly.
19:08Yeah, they asked me to be Buddy Holly.
19:11I don't know if I was a good Buddy Holly, but I said the words.
19:15Dewey, you'll be fine, or my name's not Buddy Holly.
19:18But I was on set that day with Jack White.
19:20He was playing Elvis.
19:21And, yeah, it was just a really quick shoot.
19:23But I think, like, this is a film I always forget about.
19:27You know, when people do mention to me, like, oh, you walk hard.
19:30I'm like, oh, yeah.
19:31But, like, I just love that I was in a movie with, like, all these, like, comedic geniuses.
19:37Like, at least I made it into one of those for even a small part.
19:42Oh, wow.
19:43Dancing with the Stars.
19:44Every year since Dancing with the Stars started being a show, they were like, will you do it?
19:48And I was like, hell no.
19:50Like, no way.
19:51I don't care.
19:52I don't dance.
19:53You know, I'm an actor or, you know, I've been in the entertainment business.
19:56But, like, I just, I don't, like, put myself out there and, you know, and all that.
20:01But I'll say this.
20:03Hands down, I've done a lot of cool things in my life.
20:06This is one of my favorite things I ever did.
20:09And I was mad I didn't do it sooner.
20:11I loved it.
20:12But I'm also a competitive person.
20:14So I love, like, the competition aspect.
20:16But it motivated me to work really hard.
20:19Whitney, my partner, we just had so much fun.
20:22I truly loved it.
20:23So, like, people come up to me all the time, like, other actors.
20:26Like, oh, you did Dance with the Stars?
20:27I'm like, if you get asked, do it.
20:31This was our first dance that we did.
20:33It was a foxtrot.
20:35And I remember, like, being an absolute wreck, nervous.
20:39Like, literally nauseous, trembling like I've never felt in my life.
20:44And that was every week.
20:45But, like, especially in that moment.
20:47And there's a part where, like, it goes to the chorus and we do, like, this, like, this whole little
20:50section.
20:52And I heard the crowd, like, go kind of crazy.
20:54It was just a magical feeling.
20:56It was really, really awesome.
20:58And then, obviously, I made it all the way to the finale.
21:00I think I was picked online.
21:02You know, they do, like, the odds.
21:04I was picked to go home first.
21:06Like, everyone just assumed, like, oh, I was going to go home first.
21:08And I made it all the way to the end.
21:10And this is nothing against the other dancers.
21:12Everyone on that show is amazing.
21:13I got used to dancing with Whitney.
21:16And she made it look like I was really, truly leading her, right?
21:19And I was a little bit.
21:20Like, I got to where I felt pretty confident to do that.
21:23But I didn't realize how much she actually helped by, like, holding herself, in a sense,
21:29than when I did the tour.
21:30And I got to dance with all the other girls.
21:32Because Whitney, unfortunately, couldn't go on the tour because her husband's father had passed away.
21:37And so I ended up dancing with Lindsay and Sharna and Emma and everybody.
21:41And it's weird to think that, like, my experience would have been completely different
21:47depending on who you get partnered with.
21:48You know what I mean?
21:49And I think I got really lucky that Whitney was my partner.
21:52And, like, she made me look way better than I was.
21:55And it was awesome.
21:57Like, if they asked me to do it again, like, if they had, like, a...
22:00Not that I should be on an all-star season because I'm on an all-star.
22:02But, like, if they had, like, bring back your people, I would be like, hell yeah, I'm doing it.
22:07You know?
22:08And maybe I should start, like, practicing dancing in case they do that.
22:12That�� entend是我
22:12That improvement
22:13That's how you do it.
22:13That's what Iroar.
22:14Wow, thank you.
22:15So pretty quickly, I'm going to sit down here, though.
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