Frankie Muniz’s playlist

Frankie Muniz’s return to TV is going to blow you away.

The former Malcolm in the Middle star joins Ian Ziering, Tara Reid and David Hasselhoff in Sharknado 3: Oh Hello No!, Syfy’s next chapter of their ridiculous runaway hit film series.

The revival of Frankie’s acting career comes after he retreated from the biz the minute Malcolm in the Middle’s seven season run ended in 2006.

The one-time child actor gave me a call at the crack of dawn with his comeback on his mind. The poor guy couldn’t sleep.

“I’m just so excited about fully venturing back into Hollywood,” Frankie says. “But I feel like it’s going to be a challenge to be welcomed back by fans since all they’ve really seen over the years are reruns of Malcolm in the Middle.”

Frankie can be a little hard on himself. He actually has starred in a few notable projects since the Emmy Award-winning series wrapped up. There’s his creepy and highly applauded guest spot on Criminal Minds for one, and the guy gives good psycho, but these gigs were by no means full time work. Frankie just couldn’t put in the hours.

So what was his deal? An identity crisis? A stint in rehab? Both legit guesses. He was a child actor after all and sadly so many have gone down that road. But no, not Frankie.

“I started racing cars,” he says. “It was always like another dream job to me and at that point, it’s all I wanted to do. I had to pursue it fully. Either way, when I was acting, they wouldn’t let me race for insurance reasons.”

So Agent Cody Banks (you haven’t forgotten Frankie’s 2003 kiddie flick with Hilary Duff have you?) is a race car driver.

No joke though, the guy is really good behind the wheel. But after driving in a bunch of championships like The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race and The Champ Car Atlantic Series, and ranking top 10, Frankie is ready to welcome back his first love into the front seat.

“I want to be a part of the acting world again. It’s like a new found passion and it took going away for me to realize it,” Frankie says. “Stepping back allowed me to take it in and appreciate everything I was a part of as a child actor. Leaving in the height of it all after Malcolm wasn’t the smartest decision career wise, I’m going to have to work that much harder now, but I feel like I’m such a better person because of it.”

In addition to Sharknado 3, Frankie has two other films on the way. The Wild West action Hot Bath an’ a Stiff Drink 2 and the comedy Road to Capri costarring Virginia Madsen.

“The things I have lined up are definitely different from what people have seen before. It’s going to be interesting,” he adds.

While I poured myself another cup of coffee (remember it was barely 6 a.m. when our chat went down), I asked Frankie to start up his computer and make a playlist from his iTunes most played tracks.

“I’m really bad at this game and there won’t be anything new,” he says. “I’ve been listening to the same 500 songs for like the last 7 years.”

Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley

“I’m a very big Jeff Buckley fan. This one is amazing.”

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D’Artagnan’s Theme – Citizen Cope

“I love this song and all Citizen Cope’s songs.”

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Where Have You Been? – Manchester Orchestra

“This is a song my fiance and I listened to on repeat for the first 6 months of our relationship. It reminds me so much of going out for ice cream with her and all the little cheesy things you do when you’re in a new relationship.”

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Sunrise – Nora Jones

“I’m going to mix it up with Nora Jones. It’s pretty cheesy, but what can I say? I’m into it.”

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Spiralling – Keane

“I could make a playlist of every Keane song, but I love ‘Spiralling.’ It makes me feel alive.”

Sharknado airs Wednesday, July 22 on Space and Syfy.

Find Frankie on twitter and facebook.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Jul 7 2015. Filed under Celebrity Playlist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.