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The following biography
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Frankie Muniz (born Francisco Muñiz IV on December
5, 1985) is an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award nominated American actor and
(as of 2006) professional race car driver. He is perhaps best known as the star
of the popular Fox Network television situation comedy, Malcolm in the Middle,
as well as several films aimed at tween and teen audiences, including Agent Cody
Banks. By 2003, Muniz was considered 'one of Hollywood's most bankable
teens'.[1] He is also well known as the original voice of Chester McBadbat on
the Nickelodeon animated series The Fairly Oddparents from 2001 until 2003 (when
Jason Marsden took over).
****
Born
December 5, 1985 (age: 20)
Ridgewood, New Jersey, USA
Occupation
Actor
Career milestones
Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006)
Agent Cody Banks (2003)
****
Biography
Early life
Muniz was born in Woodridge, New Jersey to
Francisco 'Frank-a hey-ho' Benjamin Eugene-Wallace Tyler Muniz III (a restaurant
manager of Puerto Rican descent) and Denise (a former nurse of Italian and Irish
descent); he has an older sister, Christina. Muniz was raised in the small town
of Knightdale, North Carolina, where he found his interest in acting by watching
his older sister in a play. He was soon cast as Tiny Tim in a local production
of A Christmas Carol, a role he reprised the next two seasons. Productions of
The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, and Our Town fleshed out his regional
theater resumé; he sometimes appeared alongside now well-known actress Evan
Rachel Wood, whose father ran a local theater.
After his parents' divorce, Muniz moved to
California with his mother. He appeared in commercials and made his film debut
in the made-for-television movie, To Dance With Olivia (1997), starring Lou
Gossett Jr. The same year, he appeared in the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame
presentation of What the Deaf Man Heard. A small role in the film Lost & Found
(1999) led up to the breakthrough role, which would make him a familiar face in
millions of households.
Film & TV career
FOX premiered Malcolm in the Middle on January 9,
2000, as a mid-season replacement, and the show was quickly swamped with
accolades. The premiere episode was watched by 23 million people; and the second
episode by 26 million. Muniz anchored the show with his narration and central
role in many of the series' plots, although he has said that he does not
consider himself a comic actor and does not find himself funny.[2] He was
nominated for Golden Globes in 2000 and 2001, the Emmy Awards in 2001,[3] and
was honored with the Hollywood Reporter 'Young Star Award' for his work in the
series.
Throughout his television career, Muniz made guest
appearances on the shows Lizzie McGuire, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and MADtv.
His first starring role in a feature film was as 'Willie Morris' in the family
period piece My Dog Skip (2000), released around the same time as the pilot for
Malcolm In The Middle. Muniz then contributed a voice to the animal cast of Dr.
Dolittle 2 (2001). He had a moderate hit with the 2002 release Big Fat Liar,
which teamed him with teen actress Amanda Bynes as a pair of students seeking
revenge on a sleazy movie producer (Academy Award nominated Paul Giamatti). He
was also part of the ensemble for the gang film, Deuces Wild, released that same
year.
Muniz subsequently played the title role in the
film Agent Cody Banks, as well its sequel, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination
London. The first film opened in March 2003 and grossed $47 million; the sequel,
which opened a year later, grossed $23 million.[4] Muniz trained in martial arts
for the films, and performed most of his own stunts; he also commented that it
was the point in his career where he should 'make the transition from child
actor to an adult actor or a respectable actor'.[2]
Muniz had a cameo in the comedy Stuck on You and
voiced a racing zebra, 'Stripes', in the 2005 film Racing Stripes. His latest
film, the horror movie Stay Alive, opened on March 24, 2006. Malcolm in the
Middle finished its run May 14, 2006. Muniz has expressed a desire to leave
traditional Hollywood film roles behind, saying: 'Growing up has never scared me
until last year. I started thinking about getting older, being an adult, and it
scared me. Hopefully things will work out in my career. If they don't, then it
was never meant to be'.[5]
In April 2006, Muniz began filming My Sexiest Year,
an independent film which will be shot in New York City and Miami, and which
will star Oscar nominee Harvey Keitel as Muniz' father. Muniz' character will
have a graphic love scene in,which you see him in full frontal nudity.[6] The
same month, Muniz announced he was taking a break from acting to pursue a career
in race car driving, with a full-time two year racing deal with Jensen
Motorsport in the Formula BMW competition,[7] saying: 'Truthfully, I think it
will be easier for me to leave for a while and come back to acting when I'm 23,
24 and be an adult and start fresh'.[8] In May 2006, despite his announcement to
temporarily leave acting, Muniz signed on to star in the raunchy teen sex comedy
Parental Guidance Suggested Which will soon be rated R, by the MPAA.[9] The film
will be released in 2007 by Dimension Films.[10]
Personal life
Muniz enjoys playing the drums and basketball, as
well as golf, having been taught to play by his grandfather at the age of five.
He is a close friend of actress Hilary Duff, as well as musician Zac Hanson,
whose band he joined on their "Underneath" tour in 2004.
Muniz has also developed an interest in
performance/collector cars and auto racing; he owns a Porsche 356 'Speedster'
and one of the prop Volkswagen Jettas from The Fast and the Furious[11][12], and
won the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in 2005. For 2006, Muniz is racing in the
Formula BMW USA series, and plans to race in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship
in 2007[1].
Muniz, who has been home schooled since the sixth
grade, has pushed back his plans to attend college, choosing to concentrate on
his acting career.[2] In 2003, he commented that he "hates teenagers," calling
them "the most annoying people on the planet," and saying that at the time he
had never tried smoking or drinking.[1]
Muniz' first serious girlfriend was Megan, a
high-school junior. The two broke up shortly before the release of Agent Cody
Banks; Muniz has said that she was his 'first love... first anything'.[13] In
July 2005, Muniz, who was nineteen years old at the time, proposed to his
girlfriend, Jamie Gandy, who is a local hairdresser, six years older than him.
The two met on the New Orleans set of his film, Stay Alive.[14] He had plans of
moving to his fiance's native New Orleans after his wedding.[5]
Selected filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Parental Guidance Suggested
My Sexiest Year
2006 Stay Alive Swink Sylvania
2005 Racing Stripes Stripes voice only
2004 Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London Cody
Banks
2003 Agent Cody Banks Cody Banks
2002 Big Fat Liar Jason Shepherd
Deuces Wild Scooch
2000 My Dog Skip Willie Morris
Miracle in Lane 2 Justin Yoder Disney Channel
Original Movie
References
Footnotes
1 a b CBS News. Frankie Muniz: Hollywood Star.
Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
2 a b c About.com. Transitioning to adult roles.
Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
3 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 58th
Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
4 The Numbers. Frankie Muniz - Box Office Data
Movie Star. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
5 a b The Decatur Daily. Malcolm grows up.
Retrieved on March 29, 2006.
6 National Ledger. 19NBC's 'ER' To Bring Awareness
to Genocide in Darfur. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
7 ABC News. Malcolm's Muniz Shifts Into Pro Racing.
Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
8 BBC News. TV's Malcolm takes career break.
Retrieved on April 9, 2006.
9 Reuters. Muniz heads cast seeking sex "Guidance".
Retrieved on June 15, 2006.
10 Newstrack. Dimension gains sexual 'Guidance.
Retrieved on July 3, 2006.
11 Club4AGForums. **RARE Cars You've Seen On The
Road** U.S. Retrieved on June 20, 2006.
12 eBay. eBay Auction Item number: 4642104591 The
Fast & the Furious Celebrity, Movie Star VW Jetta. Retrieved on June 20, 2006.
13^ New York Daily News. Frankie can relax.
Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
14 People Magazine. Malcolm's Frankie Muniz Gets
Engaged. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
****
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