When you ask the average kid what they want to be when they grow up, some might land somewhere between professional athlete or movie star.
For Frankie Muniz, balancing a career as a professional NASCAR driver and a TV actor isn't a fantasy; it'll be his very busy reality this upcoming year.
The actor, best known for his titular role in Malcolm in the Middle, has recently hit some professional strides: He's got a blossoming NASCAR career and a reboot of the beloved sitcom in the works.
Three things to know:
- Muniz has long been interested in car racing, participating in the sport for the past 20 years, and having driven cars professionally in a variety of leagues and races.
- This past week, the 39-year-old made his professional full-time debut as a truck driver for Reaume Brothers Racing at NASCAR's Truck Series in Daytona Beach.
- And he did pretty well! Muniz finished in 11th place in his race, and was bumped to 10th after a fellow competitor was disqualified. So far, it's the best outcome of his racing career.
Want more? The Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast suggests and dissects the buzziest new movies, TV, music, books, videogames and more, five days a week.
Racing and a reboot
Muniz will continue to race professionally full time, and will also reprise his titular role as pop culture's favorite child genius, in a reboot of the Emmy-winning series Malcolm in the Middle. The show will reportedly bring back the original starring cast including Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek and show creator Linwood Boomer.
Fox Sports reports that in order to balance both, Muniz has been given a production schedule that will split his week between filming and racing.
Dive deeper with NPR:
- Need more on television? Check out Pop Culture Happy Hour's guide to the great shows on network TV
- And if you want to get deeper, Listen to the It's Been a Minute podcast, where host Brittany Luse goes beyond the obvious takes. Because culture doesn't happen by accident.
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