Background and career
Francisco James Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor and racing driver. Muniz came to prominence in the 2000s playing the titular character of the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006), for which he was nominated for an Emmy and two Golden Globe Awards. He also worked in the films Big Fat Liar (2002), Deuces Wild (2002), Agent Cody Banks (2003), and Racing Stripes (2005). At the height of his fame in 2003, Muniz was considered one of the most popular child actors and "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, Muniz put his acting career on hold to pursue an open-wheel racing career and competed in the Atlantic Championship. He returned to racing in 2021 in stock cars, joining Rette Jones Racing for a full season in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023, where he finished fourth in the standings. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 33 Ford F-150 for Team Reaume.
Francisco Muniz IV was born in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, on December 5, 1985, the son of nurse Denise and restaurateur Francisco Muñiz III. Muniz's mother is half Irish and half Italian, while his father is Puerto Rican (of Spanish descent from Asturias). He has an older sister named Cristina. When Muniz was four years old, his family moved to Knightdale, North Carolina, where he grew up. He was discovered at the age of eight at a talent show in Raleigh, North Carolina, playing Tiny Tim in a local production of A Christmas Carol. His parents divorced shortly after, and he subsequently moved with his mother to Burbank, California. Beginning in the sixth grade, he was homeschooled by his mother.
Muniz appeared in commercials and made his film debut in the made-for-television movie To Dance with Olivia (1997), starring Lou Gossett Jr. In that 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 to his breakout role as the titular character on Linwood Boomer's sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which premiered on Fox on January 9, 2000. The show was successful, and it was quickly met with accolades. The pilot episode was watched by 23 million people and the second episode, "Red Dress" (premiered on January 16, 2000), by 26 million. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2001, and received 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 was as Willie Morris in the 2000 family drama film My Dog Skip, which was released at the same approximate time as the pilot for Malcolm in the Middle. That same year, he provided the character voice of Domino in the 2000 video game 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue and was featured on the video game Stargate Worlds. The following year, he contributed a character voice to the animal cast of the film Dr. Dolittle 2. Muniz was also the voice of Chester McBadBat in the first two seasons of The Fairly OddParents until Jason Marsden took over. He had a hit with the 2002 release Big Fat Liar, in which he co-starred with teen actress Amanda Bynes as a pair of students seeking revenge on a sleazy movie producer (played by Paul Giamatti). Muniz was also part of the ensemble for the gang film Deuces Wild, released that same year. In 2003, he made a cameo appearance as Cher's underage boyfriend in Stuck on You. That same year, he appeared in the series premiere of Ashton Kutcher's MTV practical joke series Punk'd. Muniz subsequently was cast in the lead role in Holes, but ultimately dropped out to play the title role in the film Agent Cody Banks, a role which he would reprise in its sequel, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London. The first film was a success when it opened in March 2003, grossing $47 million; the sequel came out a year later and was a failure, only grossing $28 million. He 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." In 2004, he wrote the teleplay of the TV show Granted, on which he was also the executive producer. Muniz provided the character voice of a zebra named Stripes, who wishes to become a racing equine, in the 2005 film Racing Stripes. That same year, he made a guest appearance as himself in "Mr. F", an episode of the Fox comedy Arrested Development. In April 2006, he began filming My Sexiest Year, an independent film in which Harvey Keitel played his father. He announced, during that same month, that he would be taking a break from acting, in order to pursue a career in race car driving, under a full-time two-year deal with Jensen Motorsport in the Formula BMW competition. In 2006, he was executive producer for the movie Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman. Malcolm in the Middle finished its run on May 14, 2006. He 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." Despite his earlier stated intention to take a break from acting, Muniz was reported in May 2006 to have signed on to star in the R-rated teen-sex comedy Extreme Movie. The film was originally planned to be released in 2007 by Dimension Films, but was ultimately released straight to DVD in February 2009. In 2007, he became an associate producer of the film Choose Connor. In late 2007, he made a guest appearance in an episode of the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. In December 2007, he made a cameo appearance in the movie Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, playing Buddy Holly. In 2008, he began work on a film with former Missy Elliott protégée Brianna Perry, but the project was never released. Muniz made a foray into the superhero genre with the family action film Pizza Man, in 2011. In 2012, he made a cameo appearance as himself in the second season of the comedy Don't Trust the B— in Apartment 23. In 2015, he made another cameo appearance as a fictionalized version of himself in The Mysteries of Laura, in which Detective Merideth Bose (Janina Gavankar) has a crush on an actor/racecar driver (Muniz) who was competing in a drag race. The team was on an NYPD case, and suspected evidence would present itself at the drag race. In 2021, Muniz was a guest star in an episode of ABC's The Rookie. He played a former child actor who had become a cult leader, in an apparent parody of his former teen idol status. On December 21, 2023, he starred with Kelly Elizabeth Lawera and Kyle Fecteau in Santa's Training Camp/Ford Performance. In December 2024, it was announced that Muniz had reprised his role as Malcolm in a four episode Malcolm in the Middle reboot for Disney+, alongside fellow original cast members Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek. The show was initially pitched as a 2 hour movie, before altering to four 30 minute episodes. Filming commenced in April 2025, with production working around Muniz' NASCAR schedule. Filming wrapped in May 2025.
Muniz has had a long-running interest in car racing. On February 18, 2001, Muniz drove the pace car for the Daytona 500 and met Dale Earnhardt shortly before Earnhardt entered his vehicle for the race. Muniz, who was also attending the race to film for MTV's documentary series True Life, witnessed the subsequent crash on the final lap which killed Earnhardt. Muniz's career in car racing traces back to 2004, when he ran the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach as a celebrity participant, finishing 7th. The following year, he finished third, and was the best-finishing celebrity after capitalizing on Ingo Rademacher and Aaron Peirsol's contact on the final lap. While investigating the possibility of joining a racing team as an owner, he was granted a test in a car, and instead signed a two-year deal with Jensen Motorsport as a driver. Muniz entered fourteen races during the 2006 Formula BMW USA season, and failed to finish in a point-scoring position. He was selected as one of the thirty-six drivers to compete in the annual Formula BMW World Final at Valencia. Muniz finished 29th. In April, he again competed in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity, finishing 11th after starting 19th. In 2007, Muniz moved up to the more competitive Champ Car Atlantic Series, where he competed in the entire season of 12 races. For the season, his best race finish was ninth place, and he officially earned a total of 41 points (for 22nd place) and $17,000 in prize money, logging 351 laps. In January 2007, he placed second at the Sebring Winter National race. He signed with Atlantic Championship-winning team Pacific Coast Motorsports in January 2008, with a goal to consistently compete in the top ten of the points championship. He finished the 2008 season in eleventh place. At the end of the 2008 season, he won the Jovy Marcelo Award, an award for sportsmanship voted on by fellow drivers named in memory of the 1991 Atlantic Championship winner who was killed during practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500. In 2009, Muniz joined Team Stargate Worlds, and finished in the top ten in every race he contested, with a best finish of fourth at Miller Motorsports Park; however, prior to the penultimate race at Road America, his season was shortened by wrist surgery. In 2011, Muniz returned to the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race; after starting 15th, he finished 4th. On October 23, 2021, Muniz made his stock car racing debut at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California, competing in the SRL Pro Late Model series driving for High Point Racing.
In January 2022, Muniz participated in the ARCA Menards Series test at Daytona International Speedway, driving the No. 01 Ford for Fast Track Racing. On January 11, 2023, it was announced that Muniz would drive full-time for Rette Jones Racing in the ARCA Menards Series in the team's No. 30 Ford Mustang. Muniz finished fourth in the standings with one top-five and 11 top-tens, including a season-best fifth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway. In 2024, it was also announced that Muniz would make two additional starts for the team, as well as an ARCA Menards Series start at Michigan International Speedway for the team.
On February 9, 2024, it was announced that Muniz would attempt to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, driving the No. 35 Ford for Joey Gase Motorsports. Along with that race, he would compete on a part-time schedule in the car. He earned a 33rd-place DNF in his debut race. He also ran at Phoenix, where he once again earned at 30th-place DNF. He failed to qualify for the race at Portland, but failed to qualify for the event.
