The child star of Fox's Malcolm in the Middle who moved into open-wheel and stock car racing, from Formula BMW to the ARCA Menards Series and full-time trucks.
Frankie Muniz is an American actor and racing driver born on 5 December 1985. He starred as Malcolm on Fox's hit sitcom from 2000 to 2006 and was nominated for an Emmy. He raced in the Atlantic series and in the ARCA Menards Series before joining the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series full-time in 2025.
Frankie Muniz is an American actor and stock car racing driver, born in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, on 5 December 1985. He became known for the title role in the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which ran from 2000 to 2006. In the years since he has raced in open-wheel and stock car series, and he now competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Where did Muniz grow up and get started?
Muniz was born in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, and his family moved to Knightdale, North Carolina, when he was four. He was discovered at the age of eight at a talent show in Raleigh, where he played Tiny Tim in a local production of A Christmas Carol. His parents divorced soon afterwards, and he moved with his mother to Burbank, California.
He was homeschooled from sixth grade. His first screen work came in commercials, and his film debut was the television movie To Dance with Olivia in 1997, opposite Lou Gossett Jr. That same year he appeared in the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation What the Deaf Man Heard.
A child actor who left Hollywood's expectations behind, raced his way up through the lower series and then found his place on the stock car tracks.
How did Malcolm in the Middle make him famous?
Muniz was cast as the title character in Linwood Boomer's Malcolm in the Middle, which premiered on Fox on 9 January 2000 and finished on 14 May 2006. The pilot drew 23 million viewers and the second episode 26 million. Muniz earned an Emmy nomination in 2001, and The Hollywood Reporter gave him its Young Star Award for the role.
At the height of his fame in 2003 he was considered one of the most popular child actors in the business, and the press regarded him as one of the most bankable teen stars in Hollywood.
After the show ended he said he wanted to leave traditional Hollywood film roles behind, and he began building a second career in racing. He returned to acting occasionally, with guest roles and a few film projects along the way.
Which films and television work followed the sitcom?
His film work included Big Fat Liar (2002), in which he co-starred with Amanda Bynes as students seeking revenge on a sleazy movie producer played by Paul Giamatti. He also appeared in Deuces Wild in 2002 and in the Ashton Kutcher series Punk'd in 2003, and he voiced Stripes, a zebra who dreams of racing, in Racing Stripes in 2005.
The Agent Cody Banks films were his biggest commercial hits. The first opened in March 2003 and grossed $47 million, while the sequel, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, grossed $28 million a year later. For the films he studied martial arts and did the majority of his stunts himself.
On television he wrote the teleplay for the show Granted in 2004 and served as its executive producer. He was also a contestant on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars, paired with Witney Carson, and the pair finished third. In 2018 he co-hosted Dancing with the Stars Juniors with Jordan Fisher.
What happened with the Malcolm reboot?
Yes. In December 2024 Disney+ announced a Malcolm in the Middle reboot, with Muniz returning as Malcolm alongside original cast members Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek. The project was first pitched as a two-hour movie before being reshaped into four 30-minute episodes.
Filming began in April 2025 and wrapped in May 2025, with production working around Muniz's NASCAR schedule.
How did Muniz's interest in racing begin?
His racing story starts on 18 February 2001, when he drove the pace car for the Daytona 500. He was there to film for MTV's documentary series True Life, and he witnessed the final-lap crash that killed Dale Earnhardt shortly after meeting him before the race.
His celebrity racing began in 2004, when he took part in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at Long Beach and finished seventh. He finished third the following year, and in 2011 he returned to finish fourth after starting 15th. Between those races he was granted a test in a car and signed a two-year deal with Jensen Motorsport as a driver.
How did Muniz perform in open-wheel racing?
In 2006 Muniz raced in fourteen Formula BMW USA events with Jensen Motorsport and did not finish in a point-scoring position. He was one of thirty-six drivers selected for the Formula BMW World Final at Valencia, where he finished 29th.
In 2007 he moved up to the Champ Car Atlantic Series and competed in all twelve races. His best finish was ninth, and he ended the season 22nd in the standings with 41 points and $17,000 in prize money. In January 2007 he had also finished second at the Sebring Winter National.
He signed with Pacific Coast Motorsports, the Atlantic Championship-winning team, in January 2008 and finished eleventh in the championship that year. He won the Jovy Marcelo Award for sportsmanship, which is voted on by fellow drivers and named after a former Atlantic champion killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500.
In 2009 he joined Team Stargate Worlds and finished in the top ten in every race he entered. His best result was fourth at Miller Motorsports Park, but wrist surgery ended his season before the penultimate race at Road America.
| Series | Years | Team | Notable result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula BMW USA | 2006 | Jensen Motorsport | Fourteen races, no point-scoring finish; 29th at the World Final |
| Champ Car Atlantic | 2007 to 2008 | Pacific Coast Motorsports (2008) | Best finish ninth in 2007; eleventh in the 2008 championship |
| ARCA Menards Series | 2023 | Rette Jones Racing | Fourth in the standings; fifth at Michigan International Speedway |
| NASCAR Xfinity Series | 2024 | Joey Gase Motorsports | 33rd-place finish at Daytona after a DNF |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | 2024 to 2026 | Reaume Brothers Racing, then Team Reaume | Tenth at Daytona in 2025; 16th at Daytona in 2026 |
How did Muniz move into stock car racing?
Muniz made his stock car debut on 23 October 2021 in the SRL Pro Late Model series at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California, driving for High Point Racing. He then tested for the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona International Speedway in January 2022 with Fast Track Racing.
In January 2023 the team announced him as a full-time driver. He would race the No. 30 Ford Mustang for Rette Jones Racing in the ARCA Menards Series. He finished fourth in the standings with one top-five result and 11 top-tens, with his best finish a fifth at Michigan International Speedway. In 2024 he made two extra starts for the team, plus an ARCA race at Michigan.
What happened in NASCAR's national series?
His NASCAR Xfinity Series debut came in February 2024 at Daytona International Speedway, driving the No. 35 Ford for Joey Gase Motorsports. He finished 33rd after a DNF, and he later ran at Phoenix, where he finished 30th after another DNF.
In June 2024 he was announced for a Craftsman Truck Series debut at Nashville Superspeedway in the No. 22 Ford F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing. In October 2024 the team confirmed he would drive full-time in the No. 33 truck for 2025, replacing Lawless Alan.
He opened the 2025 season with tenth at Daytona, but his year was cut short on 27 August after an accident at his home in Arizona fractured his distal radius. He returned at Talladega in October 2025 after doctors cleared him, and in December 2025 the team, formerly known as RBR, confirmed he would race full-time in 2026.
He began 2026 with 16th at Daytona. He missed Watkins Glen, where Stephen Mallozzi drove the truck, and New Hampshire, where Luke Baldwin took over and failed to qualify. He also missed Kansas and Charlotte while pursuing the GT4 America championship.
What else has Muniz done outside racing and acting?
Music has been a steady sideline. Early on he was the drummer for You Hang Up, an unsigned act, from 2010. Two years later he moved to Kingsfoil, a York-based group, and took endorsements from SJC Drums and Imperial Cymbals. He left Kingsfoil in 2014 because of scheduling problems.
In 2017 he announced that he managed Astro Lasso, a York-based band whose members came from Kingsfoil. He travels with the band, looks after its monitor systems and lighting, and acts as its designated driver.
He has also been an active investor in property. In the early 2000s he bought parking lots in downtown Los Angeles around the Staples Center to generate passive income, and he sold them in 2006. In 2018 he and Paige Price bought Outrageous Olive Oils and Vinegars, a specialty shop in Scottsdale, Arizona, which they sold in August 2020.
What were his supporting screen roles?
Alongside his leading roles, Muniz built up a long list of supporting work, from voice parts in animated films to cameo appearances in comedies and dramas. He contributed a character voice to the animal cast of Dr. Dolittle 2 in 2001, and he was the voice of Chester McBadBat in the first two seasons of The Fairly OddParents before Jason Marsden took over. He also voiced Domino in the 2000 video game 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue.
Other appearances included guest roles on Lizzie McGuire, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and MADtv, and a cameo in Stuck on You in 2003 as Cher's underage boyfriend. He played himself in the Arrested Development episode Mr. F in 2005 and played Buddy Holly in the 2007 comedy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. In 2011 he made a foray into the superhero genre with the family action film Pizza Man.
He was first cast in the lead role for Holes but dropped out to play the title role in Agent Cody Banks. He was an associate producer of the film Choose Connor in 2007, and he signed on to star in the teen comedy Extreme Movie, which was planned for a 2007 release by Dimension Films but went straight to DVD in February 2009. In 2021 he guest-starred in an episode of ABC's The Rookie as a former child actor who had become a cult leader, a parody of his own teen idol status.
