WEBVTT - Frankie Muniz 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:25.120 That's okay, becaus no one here is. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:29.520 Hello and welcome to teen Beat. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:33.000 I am your host, Danielle Fischel, a former child actor 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.640 who spent her formative teenage years on a family sitcom where, 0:00:37.040 --> 0:00:40.720 for some unexplained reason, our middle school teacher followed us 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:43.000 all the way to college. But is that important to 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.960 unpack right now? Absolutely not, and that's because my current 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:51.440 focus is talking to interesting people about their own upbringings 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.080 and the universal understanding that being a teenager is both 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:58.200 awkward and embarrassing no matter who you are. 0:00:58.920 --> 0:00:59.600 I gave you my. 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:03.000 Child good, It's time we hear yours. But this week 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:06.000 I am joined by a fellow forty something who traded 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:09.280 in their traditional teenage years to punch a time card 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:13.080 and mature in real time in front of millions of fans. 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:14.440 But somehow, for. 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:17.440 Him being the titular character on a hit TV show 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.160 in his case, Malcolm in the Middle, is maybe the 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:22.160 least interesting thing about him. 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:23.400 Don't get me wrong. 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:26.480 He was nominated for an Emmy and two Golden Globes 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:28.760 for the role, and it led to movies like Big 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:33.160 Fat Liar, Agent Cody Banks and Deuces Wild, leading CBS 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:36.400 News to call him at the time one of Hollywood's 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.720 most bankable teens, which I'm sure doesn't add any pressure 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:44.840 to an already insane situation. But again, the guy is 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:47.760 an onion when it comes to layers. In two thousand 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:50.160 and eight, he put his acting career on hold to 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:53.920 pursue a career in race car driving, you know as 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:58.280 one does, focusing on open wheel racing, then stock cars, 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:02.920 and now NASCAR trucks. Currently competing for Team Realm. He 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:06.360 somehow turned what once looked like a vanity Weekend Warrior 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:10.960 decision into a full on impressive career in sports. It's 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:15.520 like if Keanu Reeves and Dogstar headlined Coachella. He also 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:17.720 knew what to do with that Malcolm Money, becoming an 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:22.080 entrepreneur and real estate investor, purchasing and selling parking garages, 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.640 buying olive oil and vinegar specialty shops, and in turn 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.760 avoiding the pitfalls that trapped so many of our peers. 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:30.280 And now, like. 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:32.600 Someone else I know, he has been brought back to 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.360 star as an adult in a revival of the show 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.519 that made him famous as a kid, Malcolm in the Middle, 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:42.760 Life's Still Unfair, a four episode event, will premiere on 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:47.519 Hulu on April tenth. But first, this uber famous kid 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:52.400 star turned well adjusted parking garage connoisseur, olive oil expert, 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:55.560 and race car driver will sit with me to find 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:59.239 the not so smooth off screen parts of his childhood, 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:03.959 because I'm sure they exist somehow. So welcome to teen 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:06.480 Beat the iconic Frankie Munez. 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.160 Hey, Hey, how are you good? 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:10.440 Are you? Thanks for having me on? 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:12.360 Oh my gosh, thank you for being here. 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:16.200 Are you maybe the most interesting man in the world. 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:19.320 I don't. I don't feel like I am. I get 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.280 when I hear like the intro and of all the 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:22.760 things I do, and I'm reminded of all the things 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:26.080 I do. I guess on paper it may seem that way, 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:28.840 but like me, in my life and my head, like 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.920 I feel like I still have so many things that 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.240 I want to do right, So like just yeah, I've 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:36.640 accomplished a lot, but I feel like I haven't nearly 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.000 accomplished as much as I want to. So, uh, I 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:41.080 don't know, I still feel like I got a lot 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:42.680 of unfinished business to handle. 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:44.600 So you're endlessly curious. 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.480 You just there's like you have You're fascinated with lots 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:49.720 of different things and you want to tackle them all. 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:53.400 Yeah, and I don't. I don't necessarily make a plan, right, 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:55.480 so like I'm not like, Okay, I really want to 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:57.240 get into this. It's kind of like a lot of 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:00.480 the things I've done have been spur the moment, this visions. 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.320 But when I commit to something, I just dive in 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:05.440 one hundred percent. Like I don't have hobbies, Like there's 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:07.080 no such thing as a hobby for me, right, It's 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:08.960 like no, no, I want to be the best, you know, 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.280 Like like I can't go bowling because then I'm gonna 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:12.920 want to be on the Professional Bowl or you know, 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:16.880 league or whatever it is. Yeah, So it's just kind 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:19.880 of my personality. Like I've always looked. I've always had 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:23.000 this weird feeling. I remember literally being like eight nine 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.000 years old and feeling like I was running out of time. 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.159 I've always had this weird like I've got to try 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:30.599 to wake up early and do as much as I 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:32.680 can during the day because like there's so much I 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:35.400 want to do and it's kind of stuck with me forever. 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:37.480 So there's good and bad of that, right, Like I'm 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:41.120 a little neurotic, but at the same time, like I've 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:43.279 lived a full life, and but like I said, I 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:44.320 still got a lot more I want to do. 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.799 Wow, that's Have you ever thought about writing a memoir 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:49.479 knowing that you feel like you have so much you 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:51.240 want to do? You probably feel like you're way too 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:54.719 young to write a memoir. But I feel like your memoir, 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:57.719 if and when you choose to write it will be fascinating. 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:02.159 I haven't actually thought about it. I don't think i'm 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.640 a I'm not a good writer at least. Like my 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:08.480 least favorite subject in school was English. Like I hated 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:10.920 writing essays. I didn't like writing like I'm a math guy, 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:12.880 you know what I mean. Yeah, although I hated math 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:14.280 because they wanted me to show my work. I'm like, 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:15.800 I just did in my head, Like I just know 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:17.800 the answer. I don't know how I got it, but 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:18.360 I know it. 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.159 You know, and you're right and I was right, So 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.640 like what does it matter? I know? That is such 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:24.599 a frustrating feeling. 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.200 I actually this is a really stupid story. But in 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:31.080 college I got I got a B in a math class. 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:33.359 And in college I was I was very tapanga. I 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:35.640 got all a's and I got a B in a 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.440 math class because on my final one of the ten 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:44.919 point questions. Yeah, I got zero points for because I 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:49.240 didn't show all my work even though I got the 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:50.279 answer right. 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:52.000 That is so frustrating. 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:53.920 I was furious. 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:55.919 I used to get mad because they're like, oh, you 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:57.120 got to show your work. But it's like, well it 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:58.760 takes half a page or it takes a whole page, 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:00.359 Like I don't want to waste all that page. Like 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:02.240 I know the answer just by looking at it, Like, 0:06:02.240 --> 0:06:03.760 why do I need you know what I mean, I'm 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:06.239 trying to save the trees. What are you talking about exactly? 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:07.320 You were doing a good thing. 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:10.599 Yeah, well, we are a part of a small little 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:14.640 sect of actors, a fraternity almost where even decades later, 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:18.640 our character name is constantly yelled at us in airports. 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:21.599 We have to stick together, you know. 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:25.880 Yes, you were born in New Jersey and then you 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:29.840 moved to North Carolina shortly thereafter. Neither of those are 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:34.200 big Hollywood feeder towns. So are you always a little 0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:35.760 performer with big dreams? 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:42.240 No? You know, I think back, and I never I 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:45.159 never said I wanted to be an actor. It's one 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:47.840 of the many things I did, and it just kind 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:50.120 of took over my life right like. I. Yeah, I 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:53.480 was from New Jersey. My dad worked for IBN. Transferred 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:55.360 us down to North Carolina when I was like five 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:59.920 or six, and I played every sport there was. I 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:03.600 was a soccer player, football player, basketball, I did tap 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:05.360 in jazz. I don't know why, but I did. I 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.120 just did a little bit of everything. And it was 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:12.040 my sister who actually she signed up for like a 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:16.920 summer arts camp and they have a Raleigh Memorial Auditorium 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.240 there and Raleigh. It's it's a big theater, like twenty 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:24.680 five hundred three thousand theater and they put on shows 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:25.920 at the end of the summer. And I thought it 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:28.200 was really cool, but it wasn't something I was like, 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:30.360 I have to do that. I was like, that seems cool. 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:33.480 So she was going to continue down the path of 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.560 trying to act or acting and doing theater and stuff. 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.600 And we were jumping on the trampoline in our backyard 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:41.800 and she was practicing the song that she was going 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:44.520 to sing. It's like, you should audition, and I was 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.960 like sure. So she picked Let's Go Fly Kite from 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:50.840 Mary Poppins. I learned it, I went in and I 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.720 sang it for it was for Christmas Carol, and I 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:57.200 got the part of Tiny Tin, and like the second 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.200 or third rehearsal, an agent went up to my mom 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:01.120 was like, there's something out him, like I'd love to 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.680 represent him. We didn't even know what it was, but 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:06.240 we're like sure. So then started going on auditions and 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:10.040 like from that moment until I kind of not stopped acting, 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.640 but like took a break from acting, I never stopped acting, 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:14.240 like you know, so it just kind of took over 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.360 and just kind of happened, if that makes sense. 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:20.920 Yes, wow, I did not realize that that's really that's 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:24.640 really impressive. Very few people one have it happened that 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:28.920 quickly for them, but two to never stop working that 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:30.760 entire time until you made the choice. 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:32.360 I'm going to put this on pause. 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:35.000 For a moment. Yes, for sure, for sure, so you do. 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.120 Eventually, then moved to Burbank, which is a city where 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:40.480 many child actor dreams do come true. 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:42.000 Do you remember. 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:45.120 Those first few days in La? Was there like any 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:46.280 culture shock for you? 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:51.000 I remember, Actually I came out before I got Malcolm. 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.559 My first time to LA, I was doing a screen 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:57.840 test for my Dog's Skip Oh and I flew in 0:08:57.960 --> 0:08:59.960 and I didn't know it was the director, but he 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:01.760 had picked me up at the airport and he was 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.600 taking us around. I remember just being so wowed by La, right, 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:06.720 like I've been in New York City, but like Ali 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.880 just seemed just so different, and seeing the Hollywood Sign 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:11.679 and he kind of took us through all like the 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:15.160 little touristy things to kind of see it, and I 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:17.120 don't know, I just remember being so afraid for my 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:19.199 mom to get on the freeway because like maybe it 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:21.080 was like in the movie Clueless, where like they get 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:22.640 freaked out when they go on the freeway and like 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:24.200 there's no I was like, you're not gonna to turn around, 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:27.080 We're gonna get lost. You know. That was like my 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:28.839 memory of like the first time I was in LA. 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:32.640 But yeah, no, I definitely had culture shock. It's definitely 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:35.640 a different world than than what I kind of knew 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:37.120 from New York City, you know what I mean? 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:38.760 But uh, for sure. 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.319 But yeah, well you were twelve at the time, right 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.440 when you first made your way out here, so that's 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:48.680 obviously a very formative age. Was it hard to make 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:51.560 friends and basically start a new life here? 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:55.079 Yes? No, I mean I was. I was always the 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:56.960 words not a loaner. I wasn't a loaner, but like 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:00.719 I was always fine by myself made sense, you know 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.160 what I mean, Like like like my sister, you know, 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:06.080 if I could talk about her like she wasn't like 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:08.360 she needed her friend group. She wanted her friend group. 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:10.200 I was cool, Like if I if I had to 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:12.920 go somewhere and leave and didn't see them, I would 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:15.199 make friends or or not, even if I didn't, Like 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.400 I didn't necessarily care. But I don't know if you remember, 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:20.040 like the oak Wood Apartments, Oh of course course, right, 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:24.640 So I think every person who comes out to LA 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:27.440 probably stays at the Oakwood at some point, you know, 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:29.720 like you know, especially child actors and stuff like that. 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:33.920 So we didn't live there, but the kid who played 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.200 Dewey Eric he lived there, so we'd go hang out 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:37.960 with him, and I met a lot of kids that 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.280 were there. Yeah, so my mom was I remember mom 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:42.000 being so frustrated. She's like, wait, you didn't want to 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:43.800 live at the oak Woods, but you're there every day 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:44.880 hanging out with these kids. 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:45.120 Right. 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:47.400 So I had like my little friend group and we 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:49.640 would drive like rye little Razor scooters all around the 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.840 Oakwood apartments and hang up. You know whatever. It was 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:54.760 so I felt like I had my little gang, like 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:56.080 I didn't, you know, I didn't feel like I was 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:57.840 missing out on friends for sure. 0:10:58.080 --> 0:10:59.000 You know, good good. 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:01.280 They were all for like a month or two trying 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:03.640 to be an actor. Then they went back to Kansas or. 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:09.600 Right, a rotating cast of friends exactly. Do you remember 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:14.000 meeting other similar age kids at auditions? Some of my 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:16.760 best friends still to this day I met at an audition. 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.840 Yeah, no, I I you know, because I did most 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:25.640 of my auditioning in New York, and I remember there 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.959 was I never really became friends with them, I guess, 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:31.200 but there was like a few boys that you'd see 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.720 and we were like, oh, Michael's here. 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:39.599 Great, he always books the roles I want. Do you 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.480 remember for me to write your social Security number down? 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:46.319 Yeah, that's true. Yeah, you write the name agents socially? 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:48.720 Why why why do you need that for my audition? 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:50.960 That's true. That is a weird thing. I never thought 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:52.080 about that. That is so weird. 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:54.240 I've looked back at that and I'm like, why. 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.480 Were we just like, yeah, sure, are you in the union, 0:11:56.520 --> 0:12:01.080 I'm eligible, okay. 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:01.600 And I'm this agency. It's so funny. 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:05.240 Okay, so you book some commercials, you do a movie, 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:07.480 but then comes the big break. 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:10.040 What was the Malcolm in the Middle audition? 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:12.760 Like all right, so it's a pretty It's actually a 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:16.200 pretty fun story because when I was in New York, 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.480 we were going on I don't know, four six auditions 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:22.960 a day, right, because I was doing everything from commercials, theater, print, movie, 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:25.600 whatever it was. Right, So we we'd have our whole 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:28.079 day booked out. And the day I was supposed to 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:30.480 go on the Malcolm premiere, I had booked a Pizza 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:33.800 Hut commercial. Oh, and like it was filming in Brooklyn, 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:35.120 and I was like, so, Mom, we have to be 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:36.719 at the you know. I was kind of the I 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:38.280 don't want to say the responsible one, but. 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:39.920 I was scheduler. 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:41.640 I was I like, I knew what time we had 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:43.199 to leave, Like, I'm the one who knew what time 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.320 the bus came for the New Jersey Transit to get 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:47.720 us to the Port Authority. I knew all the subway maps, 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:49.640 how to get everywhere. And I was like, Mom, there's 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.480 no way that we can make it for the ten 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:54.800 o'clock Pizza Huck commercial if we go to this audition 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:56.800 at nine it was at like fifteen to fifteen Broadway. 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.440 I was like, there's no way, Like, we're not going. 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:02.120 I think you should just go. Maybe we'll go early. 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.240 We'll see if they can they can they can squeeze 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.000 you in early, and if not, we'll leave. So I 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.440 remember being really really frustrated because I was like, you know, 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:14.520 you're gonna ruin my big pizza hut, my big break. Okay, 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:16.000 you know what I mean. I was one of nineteen 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:17.439 kids that was gonna be in this commercial. 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:19.960 Okay, this was said, Pizza Hut is life. 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:25.040 Yeah. So we go in early and the cast director 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:26.560 wasn't even there yet, and I was like, mom, let's 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:29.760 just go, please, let's go. And right when we went 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:31.240 to leave, the cast director came and she's like, oh, 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:32.800 you're early. I was like, I have to do this commercial. 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:35.080 She was coming really quick. I'll put you on tape 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:38.319 super quick. So I go to the audition and I 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.920 was just angry, like I was. I was just frustrated 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:44.520 and angry. I read it as nonchalant quick as I could, 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:46.480 just to get through it, just to say I did 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.600 it so we can get to my audition. So it 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:51.960 was like two days later we get a call and 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:55.760 they're like, hey, they really liked your tape and they 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:57.840 want you to come in and do more scenes. I 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.840 was like, what, Like I sucked. 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.040 I was terrible at that one. I didn't even try. 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.360 I really didn't try. But we hadn't even read the 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:08.440 script because like back then, like you very rarely got 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:10.480 the scripts. You just got like whatever the sides were. 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.560 He didn't really know. You get the breakdown and you're like, 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:15.640 I guess this is how you'd act. I don't know, 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:18.400 you know what I mean. So we were sitting in 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.040 the in the waiting room about to go do the 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.120 more scenes, and they gave us the script and my 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:26.080 mom and I were reading it and we were just 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:30.000 cracking up, like we loved it. But I realized how 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:33.240 I did the audition the initial that was Malcolm. He 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:35.640 was frustrated, he was angry, he thought the world was 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:37.480 out to get him, you know what I mean, and 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:41.080 you know, just wanted to like move on right. So 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:44.360 it it worked out pretty good. And you know, here 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:44.840 I am. 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:47.920 Thank god that your mom didn't care as much about 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:51.280 the subway schedule as you did, because without that would 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:55.200 you have even had that angst and anger exactly. The 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.840 pilot episode of Malcolm in the Middle had twenty three 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:03.720 million viewers, The second episode somehow best did that with 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:07.240 twenty six million, and then My Dog Skip comes out 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:10.960 at basically the same time. How long did it take 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:15.760 for things to drastically change in your life? 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:19.640 I have two stories there. One before the show even 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:23.120 started airing, there was billboards everywhere, like they had bill 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.600 Malcolm Middle billboards all over the place, and I remember 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:27.840 being so excited. There was one at the mall like 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:29.800 that I by the house I lived in New Jersey, 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:31.960 and like I stood next to it, like and with 0:15:32.480 --> 0:15:34.320 like see if people would notice that it was me, 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:35.960 you know what I mean, Like right before the show 0:15:36.080 --> 0:15:39.960 came on. And but I remember riding in the subway 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:43.240 one day and people were staring at me. The show 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:45.360 hadn't aired yet, you know what I mean. And I 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:47.400 remember going to my mom. I go, Mom, like, why 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:48.760 is your own seria? Like do I have something on 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.040 my face? And finally someone walked up to me and 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.200 they were like, you're going to be on that show. 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:55.760 I saw you're the kid It's gonna be on that show, 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:57.400 And I was like, whoa. The show hasn't even come 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:01.600 out yet but people already, which was kind of like 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:06.800 a crazy feeling, right going from zero. And to add 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:08.880 to that story, you know, we were in New York 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.400 City every day and my mom and I we would 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:13.360 always take the bus to the Poort Authority and so 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:16.640 we'd walk through Times Square and we'd always be there 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:20.120 around the time when TRL was being filmed, right, And 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:22.520 so we would we would be down in the crowd 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:24.840 and we'd wait to see what celebrity was going to 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:27.240 come to the glass and wave down and think we'd 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:30.400 get pictures. Or I'd also go if we were up 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:32.680 by where David Letterman filmed, we'd go there and like 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:36.080 I got a picture with Sydney Crawford, you know, like 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.800 I was trying to get like to see the celebrities. 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.040 And it was like I think two or three months later, 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.840 I was waving down to the crowd. And that was 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.760 a weird thing, right, because like it just it does. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:51.440 It happens quick, right, It. 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.440 Just being a kid trying to be an actor to 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:58.400 all of a sudden, like everyone knows who you are, 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:00.680 and you know, it's it's it's really hard to explain. 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:01.440 For sure. 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:05.520 I bet somewhere there is a photo of you in 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:07.800 the crowd down below TRL. 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:08.440 You know what I mean. 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:10.480 Like, I was at my mom's house recently and she 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:14.280 pulled out a photo album and we went we stood 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:16.320 outside of the Grammys one year, I think it was 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.600 nineteen ninety seven or nineteen ninety eight, and we were 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:23.480 out there for fifteen hours waiting for like the celebrity. 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.879 Like we had a really good spot, like waiting for 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:27.960 everyone to come out of the cars. And I was 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:31.800 a really big Hanson fan. Yeah, same every time, and 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:33.320 like they came out of their van and I have, like, 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:35.240 you know, I had like a one to ten you know, 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:38.800 film camera, and all those photos were there. And it's 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:42.399 weird because like I ended up becoming like best friends 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:45.879 with Zach Hanson. I'm like, how weird is like you know, 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.639 when you think about it, you know of where you 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:50.280 are and where your life takes you. 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:52.320 But uh, wow, that's really cool. 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.840 I'm sure there are or you can watch all episodes 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:56.640 of TRL. You'll see me my mom down in the crowd. 0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.560 Waven No No, I love that. I think that's great. 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:12.120 I know you. 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:14.920 Mentioned you don't really have hobbies, you really throw yourself 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:17.960 into them, But as a teenager or as a kid. 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:19.120 Did you have hobbies? 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:21.639 Were you able to throw yourself into things while you 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:25.720 were also still working full time? I mean, yeah, yeah, 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:27.320 you've probably not had many days off. 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:30.720 Yeah. I didn't have many days off. But I loved basketball. 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:34.199 I played in the NBA Entertainment League. That was like 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:36.520 life to me. You know. I thought I had a 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:39.040 shot to make it in the NBA. You know, five four, 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:43.639 you know, Frankie Munits. But I was actually pretty good 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:46.679 at basketball, but that was like my my thing. And 0:18:46.680 --> 0:18:48.919 then I loved golf. I played golf all the time. 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:53.479 And so those are those were my two. Like if 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:56.119 I had time, that's what I was I was probably doing. 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:00.360