Frankie Muniz clarifies memory rumors 'I have a bad memory, not amnesia'

Frankie Muniz is setting the record straight about his memory.

The former Malcolm in the Middle star recently addressed rumors that he suffers from serious memory issues, insisting that his forgetfulness has been widely mischaracterized.

During a recent episode of Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Muniz explained that while he does have a bad memory, it doesn’t amount to amnesia. 

“The story of that was taken out of context,” he said. “I have no memory issues, I have a bad memory. All these crazy stories have come out where people are like, ‘You don’t even know your [own] wife.’ I just have a bad memory.”

Muniz, who rose to fame as the titular character on the early-2000s sitcom, said his difficulty remembering stems from years of child stardom. 

“Since I was eight years old, I have been nonstop doing things — flying here, doing that and just crazy cool things,” he said. 

“I’ve also been an actor my whole life where every single day I’m pretending to be somebody else and having somebody else’s emotions… And they say 'cut' when you’re done with the scene and you forget about it. You never think about it again.”

The actor noted that his acting habits have shaped how he processes his own life and memories. 

“I’m so used to going, ‘Oh, I’m done with that.’ And I move on so that I don’t even take it in. Even my real life. Even my real emotions,” he explained.

Muniz also acknowledged that multiple concussions have contributed to his forgetfulness, joking, “I have had nine concussions. That doesn’t help. But, you know.”

Aside from acting, Muniz has pursued a professional racing career since 2008, which has also highlighted his selective memory. 

“I’m probably going to make the story about my memory even worse,” he laughed. “But I’ll do a race with 300 laps and I’ll listen to other drivers be like, ‘Oh, yeah, on lap 157, we were doing this and we were battling.’ I remember, like, two laps of the race that I did the night before. I’m so focused on what I’m doing— but then I forget it.”

Fans hoping for nostalgia will be excited to know Muniz has reunited with Malcolm in the Middle co-stars Bryan Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, Justin Berfield, and Christopher Masterson for the four-episode Disney+ revival, Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair. Erik Per Sullivan, who played Dewey, will be replaced by Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.

Despite his selective memory, Muniz continues to embrace both his past as a beloved child star and his current ventures in racing, putting rumors of serious cognitive issues to rest.