Frankie Muniz Says Filming “Malcolm in the Middle” Reboot Was First Time He Was 'Happy to Call Myself an Actor' (Exclusive)
- - Frankie Muniz Says Filming “Malcolm in the Middle” Reboot Was First Time He Was 'Happy to Call Myself an Actor' (Exclusive)
Virginia ChamleeDecember 12, 2025 at 11:32 PM
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Deborah Feingold/FOX; Gabe Ginsberg/Getty
Frankie Muniz -
Frankie Muniz is opening up about what it was like to reunite with his old co-stars for the upcoming Malcolm in the Middle miniseries reboot
The revival — Life’s Still Unfair — will bring back most of the original cast, including Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek
Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Muniz said it felt like "not a single day" had gone by when they began filming
Frankie Muniz is sharing what it was like to again take up the role of Malcom Wilkerson for the four-episode Malcolm in the Middle miniseries reboot.
The original sitcom — which revolved around the dysfunctional Wilkerson family — ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006. The revival — Life’s Still Unfair — will bring back most of the original cast as Cranston’s Hal, matriarch Lois (Jane Kaczmarek), boy genius Malcolm (Muniz) and his brothers Francis (Christopher Masterson) and Reese (Justin Berfield) are all returning.
Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Muniz, 40, admits he was "excited" for the reboot, but wasn't entirely sure what it would be like to back on set with his former co-stars, all these years later.
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"When I was doing Malcolm 20 years ago, I was a kid," Muniz acknowledges. "I was like 13 to 20 when I was on the show and I just kind of showed up and was excited to be there and said the words that were on the paper and it worked."
He continues: "As an adult, you tend to overthink things ... and you put more pressure on yourself as well. So I didn't know what it was gonna be like — if it was going to be easy to be Malcolm, if it was gonna be awkward back with the cast. And not to sound like cliché, but it was as if not a single day went by. All of us — every single person — like instantly fell back into their characters with, I'm talking the first table read."
Muniz adds that filming the forthcoming Disney+ revival miniseries was "probably one of the best times I've ever had on a set."
The joy this time around, he says, came in knowing that it would resonate with audiences — because it already has.
Saeed Adyani/Fox
Frankie Muniz, Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston in Malcolm in the Middle
"Twenty years ago, you film the first season, no one's ever seen it, you don't know if they're gonna like it, you don't know how people are gonna react to it," Muniz tells PEOPLE. "And then to have your seven years of success with it and now 20 years later, I can go anywhere in the world and people know Malcolm, right? They know the show, they love the show. They tell me how much it affected their lives and how much it meant to their families, how it brought them closer together."
He continues: "You have a greater appreciation for what you were part of but very rarely do you get to do that again."
What's more is that filming the revival gave Muniz a new appreciation for his own work as an actor.
"One interesting thing ... it was the first time in my entire life that, when I was done filming the reboot, I was happy to call myself an actor," he says. "I've always been like, 'Oh yeah, I act but I also do these other things too.' ... It was just really fun and a really cool experience, so I'm hoping that everyone loves it for sure."
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Muniz also shared with PEOPLE that he will again be taking to the race track in 2026 — this time as a driver in two different motorsports series.
As PEOPLE earlier reported, Muniz will be back for his second full- time season with Team Reaume in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving a Ford F-150. In addition, the actor will face a new challenge in sports car racing as an appointed driver for TechSport Racing, driving a Ford Mustang GT4 in the SRO-sanctioned GT4 America season.
The actor began racing in 2004 and started his professional career in 2006, joining Reaume as a full-time driver of the No. 33 F-150 in the 2025 season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. His new role at TechSport Racing will see him race alongside co-driver Tyler Stone.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
