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Frankie Muniz has revealed he never liked his Malcolm in the Middle character.
The actor, 39, starred as the main character in the popular family sitcom from 2000 to 2006, having been cast as the child prodigy while he was 13 years old.
Muniz, who recently admitted he once stormed off the sitcom’s set due to the behaviour of certain colleagues, rewatched the series with his wife in 2017 and was horrified to be likened to Malcolm by his partner.
Speaking to People, Muniz said: “She looked at me at the very end and she goes, ‘You weren’t acting at all. You are literally Malcolm.’”
He continued: “I’m like, ‘I don’t know how to take that because Malcolm sucked.’ He was the worst character on that show.’”
It comes after it was announced Muniz and his on-screen parents Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek will reunite for a four-episode run of Malcolm in the Middle for Disney+ – 25 years after the beloved sitcom first launched.
In a video shared to Instagram, Muniz said: “Let’s find out where Malcolm and his family are now,” with Cranston adding: “25 years since we premiered Malcolm in the Middle. I’m so excited… that I may have peed just a little bit.”
Elsewhere in his interview with People, Muniz – who stopped acting to race stock cars in 2008 – said he’s “obviously so thrilled” for the series’ return and is eager to “get back on set with everybody”.
He explained: “We started talking about [a reboot] literally 10 years ago. Me and Bryan Cranston – and slowly been working at it and it’s finally a reality… So I’m really excited.
“I had to do some chemistry reads,” he continued. ”I can’t tell you with what characters, but new characters that would be on the show. And it was so weird to go back and be with Linwood Boomer, the creator, and Ken Kwapis, the director, and be back in that mindset.”
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Malcolm in the Middle originally aired on Fox and ended its run in 2006. It won seven Emmy Awards – including one for best writing for a comedy series – and currently streams on Hulu and on Hulu on Disney+.
The announcement revealed a reason for Malcolm and his parents to reunite: Malcolm and his daughter are drawn into the family’s chaos when Hal (Cranston) and Lois (Kaczmarek) demand his presence for their 40th wedding anniversary party.
Back in November, Muniz said Cranston is still like a “father figure” to him, having played his dad on the sitcom for over half a decade.
“He still reaches out to me every couple of weeks, check in on me. He really cares about what I’m doing, comes to the races, if my band was playing, came to shows,” he said.
Muniz added: “I mean, he’s such an inspiration, and like I said, that’s what I strive to be for someone else in the future.”
