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

Mar. 15, 2025

Frankie Muniz on Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown.Photo:Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown Podcast/YouTube

Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown Podcast/YouTube

Frankie Munizsays he’s never done drugs, and at age 38, “I’ve still never had a sip of alcohol.”

Now aprofessional race car driver, the former child actor spoke about his relationship with drugs and alcohol with actress andJeopardy!hostMayim Bialikon her podcastBreakdown. Muniz revealed that even though he starred on the hitMalcolm in the Middlefrom 2000 to 2006, and appeared in a slew ofhit movies, he grew up largely outside of the realm of the Hollywood social scene.

“Every family member in my family drinks. And that’s what they do for fun,” Muniz replied with a laugh.

“I tried to figure out why I didn’t, because I don’t have a reason. It wasn’t, like, a religion,” he shared, musing that it likely goes back to his “hatred towards time.”

“When I was 15, 16 years old, I felt like I wassoold. I had experienced so much. And I had experienced a lot in my life in comparison to most 15 or 16 year olds. but even though I was in the entertainment business, I never sawit, meaning the drug use, any of that stuff. I somehow stayed away,” Muniz said about avoiding the young Hollywood party scene. “I just went to the set and did my thing.”

“I grew up thinking the only people who smoked pot were criminals…on episodes ofCops,” he said with a laugh. “Now I talk to my dad about it and my mom and they’re like, ‘We smoked pot every single day, you just didn’t know.’”

Now a father himself — he shares sonMauz Mosley with wife Paige— Muniz told Bialik that he was 18 the first time he was around alcohol.

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

Frankie Muniz racing in 2016.Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Muniz — who hasstruggled with memory lossandhad a “mini-stroke”more than ten years ago — recalled people’s reactions when he would turn down alcohol, which he said influenced his decision to abstain.

“I couldn’t believe everyone’s reactions when I said I don’t drink. ‘Oh, we’re at a club, we have a bottle. You want a drink?’ ‘No, I don’t drink. I’m good with water.’ Everyone was either shocked or appalled that I didn’t drink. Or they’d be like, ‘Wow, that’s so strong of you.’”

“I was always kind of like, ‘It’s so weird that people have such a strong reaction 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 with me that I was never gonna drink or do anything.”

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

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source: people.com