Frankie Muniz revealed why there are two episodes of Malcolm in the Middle where he does not appear.
“There’s two episodes I’m not in … ‘cause I walked off the set,” Muniz, 38, told his campmates in a recent episode of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Australia. According to Muniz, the behavior of “certain people” led to tension on set that ultimately reached a breaking point.
“Everyone was so afraid to stand up when certain people were controlling or rude or disrespectful. Like, they walked on pins and needles,” he said. “I was so mortified by seeing people afraid to stand up for themselves, I was like, ‘Say something!’”
He added: “I didn’t care if they told me I was never going back, because it was worth it to me.”
Muniz did not name the “certain people” in his statement.
Costar Candice Werner noted, “Well, also, the show is based around you, so they needed you. So you had that power.” The actor agreed and went on to note that the show is still airing in syndication all around the world.
Muniz starred as middle child Malcolm in the hit sitcom Malcolm in the Middle from 2000 to 2006. While the former child star claims to have stormed off set and not returned for two episodes, the character Malcolm does feature in all 151 episodes of the series. (It’s worth noting that an episode called “Clip Show #2” only uses archival footage.)
Muniz got his start on Malcolm in the Middle, but he’d go on to leave the entertainment industry entirely to become a racecar driver. In an interview with Pedestrian TV released on Sunday, March 24, Muniz said that he “would never let [his] kid go into the business.” (Muniz shares son Mauz, 3, with wife Paige Price.)
“Not that I had a negative experience because, to be honest, my experience was 100 percent positive,” Muniz shared. “But I know so many people, friends that were close to me, that had such insanely negative experiences.”
The Big Fat Liar star called the entertainment industry an “ugly world in general” that comes with “a ton of rejection.” He said, “I truly say that becoming a successful actor is like winning the lottery because in the beginning that’s all it is.”
He added, “You know, me, getting Malcolm in the Middle, maybe that was a little different than other shows, but as a child actor, you get picked because you look like you could be the kid of the parents.”
Apart from Malcolm in the Middle, Muniz starred in hit kids films like Big Fat Liar in 2002 and Agent Cody Banks in 2003.
