Actor Frankie Muniz recently revealed why he’d never allow his son to take part in the entertainment industry despite his own experience being “100% positive.”
Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start”
Muniz, 38, who starred in the popular sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle” from 2000 through 2006, told Pedestrian.TV why his son, 3-year-old Mauz, simply won’t be encouraged to become a child star.
“I would never let my kid go into the business,” he said. “And not that I had a negative experience because, to be honest, my experience was 100% positive.”
But the experience of others close to Muniz seems to have sparked his reluctance.
@pedestriantv After working as a child actor, Malcolm In The Middle star Frankie Muniz never wants his son following in his footsteps. #frankiemuniz #malcolminthemiddle #quietonset #imacelebau ♬ original sound – PEDESTRIAN.TV
“I know so many people — friends that were close to me — that had such insanely negative experiences,” he said. “And I just think it’s an ugly world in general. I never cared about rejection, but there’s a ton of rejection.”
Muniz also raised the impact of social media as another factor, noting people today are “always being watched.”
“I was that last, literally, last generation of shows where the height of my career came before social media,” he said. “So people looked at people on TV or movies or even musicians or whatever differently because they weren’t as almost attainable.”
Muniz also made headlines in December, when he revealed he’s never taken a drug or even had a sip of alcohol — a particularly stunning admission considering many child actors’ turbulent histories.
“Everyone was either shocked … appalled that I didn’t drink, or they’d be like, ‘Wow, that’s so strong of you,’” he said on Mayim Bialik’s “Breakdown” podcast. “It’s so weird that people have such a strong reaction to me not drinking, like, who cares, right?”
The actor also spoke more about finding normalcy after “Malcolm in the Middle” ended, explaining why he stepped away from the entertainment industry and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he now lives with his wife and child.
“Moving to Scottsdale in 2008, I think, saved my life,” Muniz said. “I’m 38. I’ve still never had a sip of alcohol; I’ve never done drugs — I’ve never, done anything.”
Muniz’s comments about child acting come amid renewed scrutiny over the experience of some child performers. Much of this scrutiny was brought to fruition because of the release of the Investigation Discovery documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids’ TV.”
The show exposes some of the alleged abuses said to have unfolded on popular kids’ shows.
