“Malcolm in the Middle”'s Frankie Muniz clarifies reports of his memory issues: 'It's not like I have amnesia'
“Malcolm in the Middle”'s Frankie Muniz clarifies reports of his memory issues: 'It's not like I have amnesia'
Shania RussellTue, April 7, 2026 at 6:19 PM UTC
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Frankie Muniz in 2018Credit: Image Group LA via Getty
Reports of Frankie Muniz's memory issues have been greatly exaggerated.
The Malcolm in the Middle alum recently took it upon himself to clear the air about those pesky memory rumors. You know, the ones that he accidentally started himself.
During his 2017 stint on Dancing With the Stars, Muniz remarked that he remembers very little about his six years of filming the hit sitcom. At the time, he noted that he didn't quite know how to account for his lack of memories but did mention that he has suffered several concussions and mini-strokes (transient ischemic attacks). Fans took this to mean that Muniz was suffering from a serious health affliction — but the actor now insists that people have it all wrong.
"The story of that was taken out of context," Muniz told Michael Rosenbaum on Tuesday's episode of the host's Inside of You podcast. "I have no memory issues, I have a bad memory. All these crazy stories have come out where people are like, ‘You don’t even know your [own] wife.' I just have a bad memory."
Frankie Muniz and Bryan Cranston on 'Malcolm in the Middle'Credit: 20th Century Fox/ Everett
The former child star went on to explain that he "can remember lines" without any issues, but has ultimately figured out that he doesn't "absorb many things," when it comes to everyday life. And he especially doesn't remember much about his early years as an actor.
"Since I was eight years old, I have been nonstop doing things — flying here, doing that and just crazy cool things," Muniz pointed out. "I’ve also been an actor my whole life where every single day I’m pretending to be somebody else and having somebody else’s emotions and somebody’s happiness or somebody’s sadness… And they say 'cut' when you’re done with the scene and you forget about it. You never think about it again."
Muniz then shared his theory about his bad memory: that the chaos of child stardom and habits developed as an actor are to blame.
"I’m so used to going, ‘Oh, I’m done with that.’ And I move on so that I don’t even take it in. even my real life. Even my real emotions," he said.
Frankie Muniz at Richmond Raceway on Aug. 15, 2025Credit: Samuel Corum/Getty
Later in their conversation, Muniz remarked, "I do think I have a bad memory, but it's not like I have amnesia." He then quipped, "I have had nine concussions. That doesn't help. But, you know."
Muniz, who became a household name after playing the titular role on Malcolm in the Middle and starring in such films as Big Fat Liar and Agent Cody Banks, has since built a career as a stock car racing driver. The actor has raced cars professionally since 2008 and even in that aspect of his life, the memory issues have come up.
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"I’m probably going to make the story about my memory even worse," Muniz joked. "But I’ll do a race with 300 laps and I’ll listen to other drivers be like, ‘Oh, yeah, on lap 157, we were doing this and we were battling.’"
Justin Berfield, Erik Per Sullivan, Frankie Muniz, and Bryan Cranston on 'Malcolm in the Middle'Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp/Courtesy Everett
But Muniz has no recollection of such interactions. "I remember, like, two laps of the race that I did the night before," he said. "I’m so focused on what I’m doing— but then I forget it."
When he first discussed his memory issues in 2017, Muniz said that while he can't recall too much about his time on Malcolm, his TV dad Bryan Cranston is always available to jog his memory with a phone call. Nowadays, those strolls down memory lane can happen face-to-face, as the pair have reunited for the four-episode Disney+ revival, titled Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair.
And they aren't alone: Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Masterson, and Justin Berfield are all set to return for the show. (Erik Per Sullivan, who played youngest son Dewey, will be replaced by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.) But according to Muniz, he isn't the only one who can't always remember the highlights of making the early aughts sitcom.
Muniz recalled, "Right before we started filming the reboot, they had all the cast sit on the couch and they put on old snippets and they wanted us to bring up, 'Oh, remember when we filmed that.'"
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But, even with their combined heads, the cast just couldn't do it.
"Brian, Jane, all of us were like, 'We did that?!,'" Muniz laughed. "Everybody was like, 'No way!'"
Watch Muniz's full podcast appearance above.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
