Unlike many other child stars who heavily indulged in alcohol and drugs to carry them into adulthood, Frankie Muniz says at 38, he’s “never had a sip of alcohol.”
Muniz, famed for his leading role in Malcolm in the Middle, told Mayim Bialik on her podcast, that despite growing up in Hollywood, he avoided the party scene and was never even tempted to drink.
Keep reading to find out why this former child star stayed sober!
At the tender age of 15, Frankie Muniz was tossed into the spotlight, playing Malcolm, the sharp-tongued genius in the TV sitcom, Malcolm in the Middle that ran from 2000 to 2006.
Unlike some child stars – including Amanda Bynes whom he co-starred with in the 2002 film Big Fat Liar – Muniz, 38, never abused alcohol or substances, nor did he have any emotional breakdowns as he advanced into adulthood.
Now a professional race car driver, Muniz spoke with Mayim Bialik on her podcast Breakdown, and revealed, that like her as a youngster, he avoided the oftentimes toxic Hollywood party scene.
In fact, he wasn’t exposed to alcohol in Hollywood until he 18.
“In my mind, I felt like I had made it so long without it, I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to start now, even though I was only 18,’” Muniz tells Bialik, 48, who starred in Big Bang Theory. Bialik, a former child star who at only 15 was a household name for her performance in Blossom, previously admitted to having more than a “sip” of alcohol but is not an addict.
Mature beyond his years, Muniz continues, “When I was 15, 16 years old, I felt like I was so old. I had experienced so much. And I had experienced a lot in my life in comparison to most 15 or 16-year-olds…But even though I was in the entertainment business, I never saw it, meaning the drug use, any of that stuff. I somehow stayed away. I just went to the set and did my thing.”
Trying to determine how the star of Agent Cody Banks didn’t fall into the vortex of drugs and alcohol, Bialik asked, “Were you raised in a tradition that did not