Frankie Muniz Walked Off ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ Set for Two Episodes

Frankie Muniz explained this week why his titular Malcolm in the Middle character was absent for two episodes of the show: The actor walked off the set.

“There were two episodes I’m not in. I walked off the set,” Muniz said during an appearance on Australia’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here, shared by News.com.au.

“Everyone was so afraid to stand up when certain people were controlling or rude or disrespectful,” he continued. “They walked on pins and needles.”

Muniz clarified that it wasn’t necessarily him specifically experiencing the tension, but that he was “so mortified by seeing people afraid to stand up for themselves” that “it was worth it to me.

“I didn’t care if they told me I was never going back,” he added, also ceding that he was able to make such a move given his status as the series protagonist.

Muniz starred in Malcolm in the Middle for its seven-season run from 2000 to 2006, when he was a teenager. Since then, he has mostly left acting in pursuit of a NASCAR career, but recently reflected on his experience as a child actor on TikTok.

“I would never let my kid go into the business,” Muniz said. “And not that I had a negative experience, because to be honest, my experience was 100 percent positive. But I know so many people, friends that were close to me, that had such insanely negative experiences.”

Muniz and wife Paige Price, whose son Mauz is 3, both are familiar with the television and media business.

“I just think it’s an ugly world in general,” he added. “I never cared about rejection, but there’s a ton of rejection.”

Nevertheless, Muniz still holds fondness for his Malcolm family. In 2022, he said he would love to revisit the show.

“I know Bryan Cranston is really into the idea,” he said at the time. “There might be something. I would be down 100 percent.”