Frankie Muniz explains why he'll never let his son become a child actor

Despite being one of the biggest child actors in his time, Frankie Muniz does not want his children following in his footsteps.

It's certainly not uncommon within Hollywood for child stars to follow their parent's career and become actors.

For example, Euphoria star Maude Apatow is the daughter of director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann.

However, Malcolm in the Middle star Muniz does not want his three-year-old son Mauz to pursue a career in acting.

The 38-year-old is about to enter the jungle set of Australia's I'm A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here, though he did have time to speak about his son's future plans before heading on the reality TV show.

Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV, Muniz said: "I would never let my kid go into the business.

"And not that I had a negative experience, because to be honest, my experience was 100 percent positive. But I know so many people, friends that were close to me, that had such insanely negative experiences."

The actor continued: "And I just think it's an ugly world in general. I never cared about rejection, but there's a ton of rejection."

Muniz's comments come just days after Investigation Discovery's documentary, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, where the likes of Drake Bell discussed alleged sexual abuse by a Nickelodeon staffer.

While Muniz was not part of the documentary, the actor has worked on Nickelodeon shows in the past.

He voiced a character on The Fairly OddParents, while he hosted the 2000 Kids' Choice Awards and two episodes of All That.

While Muniz is still doing the odd bit of acting, he is also a NASCAR driver nowadays.

While he is certainly best known for his role in the FOX sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, Muniz took to the track for the first time in NASCAR in 2022.

While driving an ARCA for Fast Track Racing on a major speedway, Muniz bagged himself a fastest lap time of 51.796 seconds (173.759mph).

Speaking about the feat, he said: "I like to say now that I am acting on the side. I want racing to be my focus. It's one of those things you have to do 100 percent.

“You can't just do it halfway. If I want to make it to any level of NASCAR — ARCA, Trucks, whatever it is — I'm racing against people who have been doing it since they were six years old, and I've gotta do it quickly."