Frankie Muniz says trading his Hollywood career for NASCAR was a no-brainer

Frankie Muniz says it's been so fulfilling stepping back from the bright lights of Hollywood and exploring his other interests.

He was a massive child star during his heyday in Tinseltown after starring in Malcolm in the Middle as well as loads of other TV shows and movies.

However, fast forward a few decades and the now 37-year-old is in a very different place.

He's dedicated to making it to the top of the NASCAR racing scene.

While some people might think it's a proper Sophie's Choice picking between an acting career in Hollywood and racing cars, it was fairly easy for Muniz.

Speaking to CNBC's Make It series, Frankie has opened up about making the switch.

He says his acting career could 'have been insane and gone to crazy levels, or maybe not'.

"It’s hard to know when you think that way," he said.

"For me, I’ve always felt like I was running out of time. Even when I was a kid, I just felt like I needed to take advantage of having the opportunity to do things."

Frankie added: "There’s a lot of things in my life I’ve wanted to try. And I’ve wanted to see if I could find success in these businesses. And fortunately, because of what I got as a child actor, it gave me the opportunity to step back and try those other things.

"It gave me the freedom to do that. And I’m forever grateful for that."

He says he loves the challenge of starting with nothing in the NASCAR scene and having to build his way up.

The 37-year-old is keen on stepping outside of his comfort zone and seeing whether he can be successful.

"There’s been a lot of things that no one’s ever reported that I’ve done that were failures," he told CNBC.

"But that excites me, diving into something that you don’t know very well and learning all about it. I want to do as much of that as possible.

"A lot of it also has to do with the fact that I just want to live the most fulfilled life I can. I’ve always been willing to change my trajectory, if I could push for it 100 per cent."

After leaving acting, Frankie has also toured with a band as a drummer and even bought his own olive oil business.

While he doesn't mind people recognising him for Malcom in the Middle, he's hoping one day people will come up to him and say 'I saw your race, you did so good'.