Why Frankie Muniz Would "Never Let" His Son Become a Child Actor
Frankie Muniz, once one of the most popular child stars, does not want his own kid following in his footsteps.
Speaking before he entered the jungle set of Australia's I'm A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here reality show, the star of FOX's hit early aughts sitcom Malcolm in the Middle explained why isn't keen on the idea of his son Mauz, 3, pursuing acting.
"I would never let my kid go into the business," the 38-year-old told Australian outlet PEDESTRIAN.TV in a video released March 24. "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."
The former child star, who shares his son with wife Paige, continued, "And I just think it's an ugly world in general. I never cared about rejection, but there's a ton of rejection."
photosChild Stars Then and Now
Muniz, who still works as an actor and is also a NASCAR driver, made his comments days after Investigation Discovery released its docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which detailed alleged inappropriate behavior on the sets of several Nickelodeon shows in the '90s and aughts. It features interviews with a few former child and teen actors who appeared on the programs.
Instagram / Paige Muniz
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Muniz is not one of them. The actor has, however, worked on Nickelodeon shows in the past—he voiced a character on the animated series The Fairly OddParents, and hosted the 2000 Kids' Choice Awards and two episodes of All That.
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Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider, who worked on the latter show and created many others for the cable network, is the focus of much of the docuseries. In a March 19 response video, he said, "Facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology."
The channel's former President of Content and Production Russell Hicks previously told E! News in a statement that "every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinized and approved by executives at Nickelodeon."
Read on for more revelations from Quiet on Set: