Frankie Muniz is in high demand. In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, the Malcolm in the Middle alum revealed that the producers of Dancing With the Stars have been trying to get him to compete on the show for more than a decade.
“I’ve been asked, I think, every year for the past 12 years,” Muniz, 31, told Us at Planet Hollywood in New York City on September 6.
Now that he has finally committed to joining the season 25 cast, the actor is going to have to overcome some personal obstacles. “To be honest, my biggest fear is dancing in public,” he admitted. “No joke. I want to because I love to dance in my room by myself, but if anyone is around, my body just doesn’t move. It just doesn’t.”
Muniz has turned to previous competitors for advice. “I’ve had a bunch of friends that have done the show and everyone has said this is so much fun and it looks like a blast,” he told Us. “Honestly, this last week of rehearsals has been amazing. I feel like I’ve learned a lot and I’m progressing.”
The Emmy nominee’s pro partner, Witney Carson, has been giving him some tough love already. “I told her when I met her, ‘Don’t go easy on me. Obviously I’ve never danced. If you tell me to do something, I don’t know what it is,'” he said. “I’d rather it be serious, even though we have so much fun in the rehearsals. We are always laughing and joking around, but when it’s time to dance, we get through it. I’ll think I did good and she’ll be like, ‘Nope, your shoulders droop.’ So we do it again. But I love it, I really do.”
Though the season hasn’t kicked off yet, Muniz and Carson, 23, are already trying to figure out who their biggest competition might be. “Nick Lachey,” she predicted, while the Big Fat Liar actor joked, “All these people dance like they perform. I just sit at home and watch TV!”
Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC on Monday, September 18, at 8 p.m. ET.
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