Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz reveals shocking 22-year Hilary Duff secret
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: KMazur/WireImage via Getty Images
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity
Frankie Muniz has revealed something unexpected that happened between him and Hilary Duff over two decades ago.
The Malcolm In The Middle actor has set the record straight with a never-told-before story about his time with Duff as a teenager.
The 39-year-old was discussing his life now and upcoming reboot of the show that made him a household name on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, when the conversation turned to the Lizzie McGuire actress.
The pair, who starred together in the 2003 flick Agent Cody Banks, were once close, with Muniz even appearing in an episode of her show.
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However, something happened that turned their friendship sour, leading to a long-lasting feud.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t anything Duff did to ignite the end of their friendship - it was her mom.
It all began on the set of Duff’s show when Muniz became a guest actor.
At the time, he ran into Duff’s mom, Susan, and called her ‘intense’ and 'the epitome of a stage mom.'
Speaking about the moment, he said on the show: “She was intense. Hilary was so cool, we had an awesome relationship, but her mom was super intense.”
He then decided to dive into the whole drama, noting that he could be in trouble over it, but time has passed and he’s an adult now.
He said: “I've actually never told this story, and I might get in trouble for it, but I don't care. I'm 40.”
Muniz revealed that when he and Susan ran into each other, she asked him what his plans were for the upcoming summer.
When he revealed his new exciting role, Susan allegedly asked him: "Is there a girl that could be Hilary, that would be good for Hilary?"
While he confirmed there might be a role, he didn’t let slip that he had written into his contract that he had sway with who could play the leading female role alongside him.
After the interaction, everything seemed normal until the following day, when the mom announced that they would be spending time together in the summer.
He explained: “The next morning I show up to the set, I go into her dressing room to hang out, and her mom's like, ‘Guess what? We're gonna be spending the summer together!’
"She was like, ‘We're gonna be up in Vancouver together!’”
He first assumed they had landed another project in the same city, and when he questioned what the role was, she said she was doing ‘Cody Banks with you.’
Muniz added that Susan told him they had signed the contact the night before, hours after he told her about the film.
The young actor found this difficult to digest, telling the host: “And I'm like, ‘The movie you knew nothing about yesterday, you signed - how - it's not possible! It's not humanly possible.’”
Because he was supposed to have input into who was hired, Muniz said he called his agent, who confirmed they cast Duff as they knew the pair were ‘really close’ and ‘assumed it was fine’.
What irritated Muniz wasn’t that she was cast, he said it was because everyone went around him.
“So needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about it. And not because I didn't want it to be Hilary. Just because they went around me,” the actor admitted.
It’s not confirmed if Duff, who has recently been slammed for sobbing over spilling coffee in her purse, knew about this issue.
To make things worse, he would become ‘very sad’ when Susan appeared on set of the film.
“I've never talked to Hilary since the last day of filming. I've not said one word to her since then. So that's the truth that no one knows about,” he said.
UNILAD reached out to Hilary Duff's representatives for comment.