Frankie Muniz was 8 when he landed his first acting role. He says it 'took over' his life.

When Frankie Muniz was 15 years old, he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

He was the star of Malcolm in the Middle, the lauded family sitcom that ran for seven seasons, with a dedicated audience of 13 to 15 million. For a young actor chasing his dreams, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It's been almost 18 years since the TV show ended and while Muniz's experience with fame, acting and Hollywood was "100 per cent positive", he is reluctant to let his son follow in his famous footsteps.

The former actor has returned to the screens for a stint on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here Australia. On the show, he revealed the reality of being a child star and how he found some semblance of peace amidst the chaos.

Watch: Frankie Muniz discusses losing his memory. Post continues after video. 

Muniz was just eight when he landed his first role, after encouragement from his sister to audition for A Christmas Carol.

"My sister did a summer arts theatre camp," he said on I'm A Celeb. "She was like, 'You should audition.' She picked me a song and I went in and auditioned. It was for A Christmas Carol and I got the part of Tiny Tim.

"I was eight years old and at the time, I was doing 20 different sports and things, and [acting] just took over my life."

Muniz didn't just play the main role of Malcolm in the show that made him a household name; at the height of his acting career in 2006, he was considered one of the most well-known child actors of his time. Starring in films such as Big Fat Liar, Agent Cody Banks, lending his voice for Fairly Odd Parents and Racing Stripes, he became a heartthrob for many teenage girls across the globe.

Frankie Muniz starred in Malcolm in the Middle from 2000 until 2006. Image: Getty.

After the series ended, the actor appeared in several other film and television roles. He balanced it with his long-time interest, NASCAR racing.

Looking back, Muniz confessed he hadn't watched Malcolm in the Middle in its entirety until about four years ago.

"... I didn't watch the show until maybe four years ago and I watched all 151 episodes, and it was such a weird thing because I thought the show was a completely different show — like the comedy, everything," he explained on I'm A Celeb.

"Even the characters — characters I thought were great weren't actually great and the characters I thought were dumb were the best characters... It was a weird thing to watch later... I just accepted that I was on a good show. People liked the show."

Being a child star was hard work for the then-teen, who said he didn't really ever remember taking a break. "I think if I added up the days off I had, it might have been 30 days in the 12 years, because it just went non-stop," he said.

From late 2007 through 2008, Muniz put his acting career on hold to compete in the Atlantic Championship Series car race, where he came 11th.

"I was at the height of my career and I called my agents and managers like, 'I don't want to do any acting right now. I'm gonna focus on racing,'" he recalled. "They were like, 'Yeah, yeah.' They'd call me with offers... and I said, 'I'm serious. I'm not doing anything.'"

Muniz is currently competing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here Australia. Image: Ten.

He's since left his acting days firmly behind him and hasn't had a role on a TV show or film since 2007. Years later, he returned to the screen for Dancing with the Stars in 2017, and now, I'm A Celeb.

"I have a greater appreciation now being older and having stepped away," he said, upon reflection. "As a kid, I just showed up and was like, 'What are the words?'"

Muniz was successful in his pursuit of a career in NASCAR racing, where he currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2023, he placed fourth in the ARCA Menards Series.

"I want to prove to people that, like, I'm here to take it seriously..." he said over Zoom at Daytona International Speedway in 2023, referring to critiques his racing career was little more than a side hobby.

"I'm not just here for a fluke. I'm not just here for publicity. I wanted this my entire life, you know what I mean?"

In February 2016, Muniz met his now-wife, Paige Muniz, who was a presenter for a golf network. She interviewed players and reported on the events — and it was at the 28th annual Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational, held in Indio, California, where the pair first connected.

They announced their relationship publicly in August 2016 via social media and in 2018, the couple got engaged 

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A post shared by Frankie Muniz (@frankiemuniz4)

The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Mauz Mosley Muniz, on March 22, 2021 — and Muniz says he would never let his son, now three, pursue acting.

"I will never let my kid go into the business," the actor told Pedestrian TV. 

"Not that I had a negative experience because, to be honest, my experience was 100 per cent positive, but I know so many people, friends that were close to me, that had such insanely negative experiences."

Muniz said it's not a wonderful world for a kid to grow up in, "especially these days with social media. You're always being watched. I was that last, literally, last generation of shows where the height of my career came before social media. 

"It's an ugly world in general."

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A post shared by Frankie Muniz (@frankiemuniz4)

Despite having a career filled with major highs, the Agent Cody Banks star acknowledged he had a rare opportunity when he landed his starring role in Malcolm in the Middle — one that many other actors don't get, no matter how deserving they may be.

"There's a ton of rejection," he said. "... I never cared about rejection but there's a ton of rejection. I truly say that becoming a successful actor is like winning the lottery because in the beginning, that's all it is.

"I think people think that [acting] is an easy thing to break into, but you know, I like to be honest about it. There are a million people in Hollywood who try... they could be the best actors on the planet they don't even get the opportunity.

"It's really a lot of luck that plays into it."

Feature Image: Instagram @frankiemuniz; Channel 10.