Frankie Muniz Says at Age 38, ‘I’ve Still Never Had a Sip of Alcohol’

Frankie Muniz says he’s never taken drugs, and at 38, “I still haven’t had a sip of alcohol.”

Now a professional racing driver, the former child actor opened up about his relationship with drugs and alcohol with the actress and Danger! host Mayim Bialik on her podcast Failure. Muniz revealed this despite starring in a hit movie Malcolm in the middle from 2000 to 2006 and appeared in a string of hit films, he grew up largely outside the realm of the Hollywood social scene.

“Were you raised in a non-drinking tradition?” Bialik, a former TV child star herself (who got her start starring on Flower at the age of 15) asked.

“Every member of my family drinks. And they do it for fun,” replied Muniz with a laugh.

“I tried to understand why I didn’t, because I have no reason. It wasn’t, like, a religion,” he said, thinking it probably stemmed from his “hatred of time”.

“When I was 15, 16, I felt like I was so old. I have experienced so much. And I’ve experienced a lot in my life compared to most 15-16 year olds. but though I was in the entertainment business, I never saw it, meaning drug use, any of that. I kind of stayed away, Muniz said of avoiding the young Hollywood party scene. “I just went on set and did my thing.”

Frankie Muniz on Malcolm in the Middle.

Deborah Feingold/20th Century Fox TV/Kobal/Shutterstock

“I grew up thinking the only people who smoked weed were criminals… in episodes policemen“, he said with a laugh. “Now I talk to my dad about it and my mom, and they say, ‘We smoked weed every day, you just didn’t know.'”

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Now a father himself – he shares a son Mauz Mosley with his wife Paige – Muniz told Bialik that at the age of 18 he was in the company of alcohol for the first time.

“In my mind I felt like I’d gone so long without it, I said, ‘Well, I’m not going to start now, even though I was only 18’.”

Frankie Muniz at the races in 2016.

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Muniz — who struggled with memory loss and suffered a “small stroke” more than a decade ago — recalled people’s reactions when he refused alcohol, which he said influenced his decision to abstain.

“I couldn’t believe everyone’s reaction when I said I don’t drink. ‘Oh, we’re in the club, we’ve got a bottle. Do you want a drink?’ ‘No, I don’t drink. I’m good with water.’ Everyone was either shocked or disgusted that I didn’t drink. Or they’d say, ‘Wow, that’s so strong of you.'”

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“I always thought, ‘It’s so weird that people react so strongly to me not drinking,'” he said. “Like, who cares? I don’t care what you do. Why do you care so much about me?’ I don’t know if I made a conscious decision, but it just stuck in my head that I would never drink or do anything.”

“But I’m 38 now and I think I’m going to start tonight,” he quipped, adding: “Just kidding.”

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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education