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Frankie Muniz is an American actor, writer, drummer, musician, producer, and a professional racing driver. He is famous for his role as Malcolm in the FOX television family sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle.” Here are 46 facts about the actor
- He was named as one of “The Hollywood’s Most Bankable Teens,” in the year 2003.
- He was awarded the Hollywood Reporter "Young Star Award" for his performance in the series “Malcolm in the Middle,” in 2001.
- The same title role in the series earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award nominations.
- Also pursuing a racing driver career, in 2005, he finished third after Ingo Rademacher and Aaron Peirsol, becoming the best-finishing celebrity in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach.
- In the year 2012, he joined the Kingsfoil band in York, Pennsylvania as a professional drummer, he dream job, if not for the acting career. However, he left the band two years later due to scheduling problems.
- At one point in his life, he owned a total of 36 cars including the $250,000 Porsche Speedster featured on Punk’d and the VW Jetta from the 2001 movie “The Fast and the Furious,” due to his obsession with cars.
- Francisco Muniz IV was born on December 5, 1985 in Wood Ridge, New Jersey, USA.
- His father Francisco III was a restaurant manager, and his mother, Denise was a former nurse. He has an elder sister, Cristina.
- He started his acting career at the age of 8, playing the role of Tiny Tim in “A Christmas Carol,” at the Theater in the Park Raleigh in North Carolina.
- It was after his performance at a talent show in Raleigh that he got the role of Tiny Tim.
- He moved with his mother to Burbank, California, after his parents divorced.
- He had appeared in a number of commercials since his role as Tiny Tim, and made his professional film debut in the TV movie “To Dance With Olivia,” as Oscar and in “What the Deaf Man Heard,” as Young Sammy.
- Following these characters, he appeared in a TV movie “Lost & Found” in a small role, which earned him a major title role in the fan-favorite series “Malcolm in the Middle,” which was first premiered on January 2000, as a mid-season replacement in Fox. However, the show was quickly overcome with accolades.
- He plays the role of Malcolm, little brother to Justin Berfield in the series, though in real life, he is older than Berfield.
- His performance as the genius Malcolm was received well and also earned him a number of awards and nominations.
- He won the Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Series at Satellite Awards in the year 2000, as well as the Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series - Leading Young Actor Award at the Young Artist Awards for two consecutive years - 2001 and 2002.
- He accidentally broke his rib while playing basketball, but still was back on the sets to continue filming the very next day.
- Following his role as Malcolm, he made guest appearances on the shows “Lizzie McGuire;” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch;” and “MADtv.”
- It was at the same time as his first major role as Malcolm, that he landed his first starring role in a feature film “My Dog Skip,” as Willie Morris.
- After this, he had a breakthrough with the 2002 release “Big Fat Liar,” in which he portrayed the character of Jason Shepherd, alongside Amanda Bynes abd Paul Giamatti.
- His next major role was as Agent Cody Banks in the movie of “Agent Cody Banks,” as well as its sequel “Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London.”
- He was paid $5 million for reprising his role as Agent Cody Banks in the sequel, which is around $3 million more than the original.
- The entre sequel movie “Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London” was shot during Muniz’s summer hiatus from filming “Malcolm in the Middle” TV series.
- In preparation for his role in the sequel, Muniz underwent martial arts training for around 2 months before the filming started.
- In the entire movie, he performed most of his own stunts and even commented that the movie was the turning point in his career where he should "make the transition from child actor to an adult actor or a respectable actor."
- Muniz, as the first and only step in his writing career, wrote the screenplay of the TV show “Granted,” in 2004. He was also the executive producer of the TV show.
- He ran the 2004 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach as a celebrity participant, finishing 7th.
- He was ranked #19 in the E's list of “50 Most Cutest Child Stars All Grown-Up,” in the year 2005.
- It was reported that he was engaged to Jamie, of New Orleans in 2006, having met her in the sets of “Stay Alive.” However, the relationship did not last long and ended the same year.
- He was cast as Jake in “My Sexiest Year,” an independent film, alongside Harvey Keitel who played the role of his father in April 2006.
- The same month, he announced that he wishes to pursue a career in race car driving, under a full-time two-year deal with Jensen Motorsport in the Formula BMW competition, for which he would take a break from his acting career.
- He entered a total of 14 races during the 2006 Formula BMW USA season, but failed to finish in a point-scoring position.
- He was one of the 36 drivers to be selected to compete in the annual Formula BMW World Final at Valencia, in which he finished 29th.
- Despite his announcement of taking a break from acting, he signed on to star as Chuck in “Extreme Movie,” which was first scheduled for a release in 2007, but finally hit the theaters only in February 2009.
- He was listed at #20 on the list of “The 20 Top-Earning Young Superstars,” by Forbes in 2007.
- He began dating Elycia Marie, owner of clothing line Arcadia Vintage.
- He competed in the entire Champ Car Atlantic Series of 12 races, with his best finish being ninth position. In the season, he earned a total of 41 points and $17,000 in prize money, logging 351 laps.
- He placed second at the Sebring Winter National race, in January 2007.
- In early 2008, it was reported that he was working on a new project with former Missy Elliott protégée Brianna Perry, but there was no other information about such a project.
- He won the Jovy Marcelo Award, which is an award for sportsmanship voted on by fellow drivers.
- In the year 2009, as a part of the Team Stargate Worlds, he finished in the top ten in every single race he contested. His best finish in the season was at fourth at Miller Motorsports Park.
- He and Marie announced their engagement through the social networking site Twitter on October 22, 2011. The duo resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.
- He returned to the 2011 Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race and finished in the 4th position, after starting in the 15th.
- He was hospitalized after having a "mini stroke" on November 30, 2012. A year later he suffered a second attack.
- He became a professional drummer and joined the Kingsfoil band in 2012. He credits Zac Hanson of the rock band Hanson, with inspiring him to learn to play the drums.
- He has a few projects in the pipeline including the “Road to Capri,” “Zoolander 2,” and “Hot Bath an' a Stiff Drink 2,” slated for a release in 2016.
