Teen actor-turned-racing driver, Frankie Muniz has revealed the behind-the-scenes trigger that has left him and Hilary Duff silent for over two decades. In a recent appearance on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, the Malcolm in the Middle star said their friendship ended after casting tensions on the 2003 film, allegedly caused by Duff’s mother. He shared the story of friendship, a casting twist, and a stage-mom dynamic that ultimately drove a wedge between him and Duff.
Frankie Muniz on his friendship with Hilary Duff
Muniz recalled that he and Duff were “really, really good friends” when they were young actors in Los Angeles. “Hilary was one of my first friends when I moved to L.A.,” he said, noting they bonded when he appeared on her show, Lizzie McGuire and they moved in similar child-star circles. At the time, he was starring on Malcolm in the Middle, and she was becoming a Disney Channel star. The fallout began during the pre-production of their 2003 film, Agent Cody Banks. Muniz says he told Duff’s mother, Susan, that he’d be filming the movie and playing a kind of junior ‘James Bond’ role.
According to Muniz, Susan then asked whether the film had yet cast a female lead. At the time, the production was eyeing Smallville star, Kristin Kreuk, for the role of ‘Natalie Connors,’ and Muniz assumed she would be cast. Then he says the next day he found out that Duff had been cast in the female lead without being consulted. “They signed the contract last night,” Susan allegedly told him, a move that blindsided Muniz. Though the casting didn’t bother him because it was Hilary, it was the process of exclusion and lack of transparency that “pissed me off,” he admitted. He described Susan as “the epitome of a stage-mom… she was intense. Hilary was so cool, we had an awesome relationship, but her mom was super intense.”