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Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Frankie Muniz latest actor-turned-driver out to prove he can compete in high-level racing
Frankie Muniz may be the only actor who has been nominated for an Emmy award and driven in a NASCAR event at Daytona. But if Muniz had been old enough to get a driver's license before he moved to Hollywood, there may never have been a "Malcolm in the Middle." 'When I'm in that race car and I put my visor down and I drive out of that pit lane, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be,' he said. 'That's what I'm supposed to do and that's what I'm doing.' And acting? 'I don't feel like I'm a good actor,' he said. 'I know I can act. But when I look at good acting, I go 'dang, I could never do that'.' That's not true, of course. Muniz, who started acting when he was 12, has been credited in 26 films and 37 TV shows, including the title role in 'Malcolm in the Middle,' which earned him two Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nod during its seven-year run on Fox. But acting was a profession. Racing is a passion. 'Excitement and all the emotions. That's what I love about racing,' he said. 'The highs are so high and the lows are unbelievably low. It's awesome.' Muniz placed 28th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday. He is 23rd among the 64 drivers listed in the series points standings, with his one top-10 finish coming in the season opener at Daytona. Muniz, 39, isn't the first actor to try racing. Paul Newman was a four-time SCCA national champion who finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979 while Patrick Dempsey ('Grey's Anatomy,' 'Can't Buy Me Love') has driven sports cars at Le Mans and in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, in addition to other series. But driving isn't a side hustle for Muniz, who last October signed with North Carolina-based Reaume Brothers Racing to be the full-time driver of the team's No. 33 Ford in the truck series. Muniz also raced twice last year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 'When I originally started racing, I was kind of at the height of my [acting] career. I had tons of offers to do movies and shows and all that,' said Muniz, who made his stock-car debut in the fall of 2021 in Bakersfield, then accepted an offer to drive full time in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023. 'Very easily could have stayed in that business. But I wanted to give racing a try. And to compete at the top level, you have to put in the time and effort that professional race car drivers are doing, right? You can't do it halfway.' Muniz was into racing before he even thought about acting. Growing up in North Carolina, he remembers waking early on the weekend to watch IndyCar and NASCAR races on TV. No one else in his family shared his interest in motorsports, so when his parents divorced shortly after Muniz was discovered acting in a talent show at age 8, his mother moved to Burbank, where he made his film debut alongside Louis Gossett Jr. in 1997's 'To Dance With Olivia.' Two years later he was cast as the gifted middle child of a dysfunctional working-class family in the successful sitcom 'Malcolm in the Middle.' Motorsports continued to tug at him so after running in a few celebrity events, Muniz twice put his acting career on hold to race, first in 2007 — shortly after 'Malcolm' ended after seven seasons and 151 episodes — when he started a three-season run in the open-wheel Atlantic Championship series. Read more: NASCAR announces race on U.S. Navy base in Coronado scheduled for 2026 Still, Muniz, who lives with his wife Paige and 4-year-old son Mauz in Scottsdale, Ariz., is dogged by criticism he is little more than a weekend warrior who is using his substantial Hollywood reputation and earnings to live out his racing fantasies. 'I don't spend any of my money going racing,' he said. 'I made a promise to my wife that I would not do that. So I can kill that rumor right there.' But those whispers persist partly because Muniz hasn't completely cut ties with acting. Because the truck series doesn't run every weekend, racing 25 times between Valentine's Day and Halloween, Muniz had time to tape a 'Malcolm in the Middle' reunion miniseries that is scheduled to air on Disney+ in December. He has also appeared in two other TV projects and two films since turning to racing full time. But his focus, he insists, is on driving. 'If I wanted to go racing for fun,' he said, 'I would not be racing in the truck series. I'd be racing at my local track or I'd be racing some SCCA club events. I want to be one of the top drivers there are. I want to make it as high up in NASCAR as I can. And I'm doing everything I can to do that.' Fame outside of racing can be a double-edged sword in the high-cost world of NASCAR. It can open doors to a ride and sponsorships others can't get, but it can also cause jealousy in the garage, with drivers crediting that fame and not talent for a rival's success. And Muniz isn't the only rookie driver who has had to deal with that. Toni Breidinger, who finished 27th in Friday's race and is one place and eight points ahead of Muniz in the season standings with nine races left, is a model who has posed for Victoria's Secret and been featured in the pages of Glamour, GQ and Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition. She's also a good driver who has been going fast on a racetrack far longer than she's been walking slowly down a catwalk. 'I was definitely a racer before anything. That was definitely my passion,' said Breidinger, who started driving go-karts in Northern California when she was 9. 'I've been lucky enough to be able to do modeling to help support that passion. But at the end of the day, I definitely consider myself a racer. That's what I grew up doing and that's the career I've always wanted do to.' Still, she sees the two pursuits as being complementary. When Breidinger appears on a red carpet, as she did before this month's ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, it helps her modeling career while at the same time giving the sponsors of her racing team — which includes 818 Tequila, Dave & Buster's and the fashion brand Coach — added value. 'It's all part of the business. It all goes back into my racing,' said Breidinger, 26, who is of German and Lebanese descent. 'The side hustles, I like to call them. I don't think that takes away from me being a race car driver.' Breidinger, who won the USAC western asphalt midget series title as a teenager, raced in the ARCA Menards Series for five years before stepping up to truck series in 2021, making NASCAR history in 2023 when she finished 15th in her first race, the best-ever debut by a female driver. That helped her land a full-time ride this season with Tricon Garage, Toyota's flagship team in the truck series. Like Muniz, Breidinger sees the truck series, the third tier of NASCAR's national racing series, as a steppingstone to a seat in a Cup car. 'I want to climb the national ladder. That's what I'm here to do,' she said. 'I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have long-term plans and long-term goals. I'm a very competitive person, especially with myself.' Kyle Larson, who climbed to the top of that ladder, running his first NASCAR national series race in a truck in 2012, then winning the 2021 Cup championship nine years later, said the path he took — and the one Muniz and Breidinger are following — is a well-worn one. Read more: NASCAR figuring out if building new track in Fontana is the 'right thing to do' 'Anybody racing in any of the three series has talent and ability enough to be there,' he said. Funding, Larson said, and not talent and ability, often determines how fast a driver can make that climb and that might be a problem for Muniz since Josh Reaume, the owner of the small three-truck team Muniz drives for, has complained about the price of racing. It can cost more than $3.5 million a year to field one competitive truck in the 25-race series — and that cost is rising, threatening to price many out of the sport. But having drivers like Muniz and Breidinger in NASCAR will help everyone in the series, Larson said, because it will bring in fans and sponsors that might not have been attracted to the sport otherwise. 'I just hope that he can get into a situation someday where you can really see his talent from being in a car or a truck that is better equipped to go run towards the front,' Larson said of Muniz. 'You want to see him succeed because if he does succeed, it's only going to do good things for our sport.' And if it works out the way Muniz hopes, perhaps he'll someday be the answer to another trivia question: Name the NASCAR champion who once worked in Hollywood. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Frankie Muniz latest actor-turned-driver out to prove he can compete in high-level racing
Frankie Muniz may be the only actor who has been nominated for an Emmy award and driven in a NASCAR event at Daytona. But if Muniz had been old enough to get a driver's license before he moved to Hollywood, there may never have been a 'Malcolm in the Middle.' 'When I'm in that race car and I put my visor down and I drive out of that pit lane, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be,' he said. 'That's what I'm supposed to do and that's what I'm doing.' And acting? 'I don't feel like I'm a good actor,' he said. 'I know I can act. But when I look at good acting, I go 'dang, I could never do that'.' That's not true, of course. Muniz, who started acting when he was 12, has been credited in 26 films and 37 TV shows, including the title role in 'Malcolm in the Middle,' which earned him two Golden Globe nominations and one Emmy nod during its seven-year run on Fox. But acting was a profession. Racing is a passion. 'Excitement and all the emotions. That's what I love about racing,' he said. 'The highs are so high and the lows are unbelievably low. It's awesome.' Muniz placed 28th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday. He is 23rd among the 64 drivers listed in the series points standings, with his one top-10 finish coming in the season opener at Daytona. Muniz, 39, isn't the first actor to try racing. Paul Newman was a four-time SCCA national champion who finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979 while Patrick Dempsey ('Grey's Anatomy,' 'Can't Buy Me Love') has driven sports cars at Le Mans and in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, in addition to other series. But driving isn't a side hustle for Muniz, who last October signed with North Carolina-based Reaume Brothers Racing to be the full-time driver of the team's No. 33 Ford in the truck series. Muniz also raced twice last year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 'When I originally started racing, I was kind of at the height of my [acting] career. I had tons of offers to do movies and shows and all that,' said Muniz, who made his stock-car debut in the fall of 2021 in Bakersfield, then accepted an offer to drive full time in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023. 'Very easily could have stayed in that business. But I wanted to give racing a try. And to compete at the top level, you have to put in the time and effort that professional race car drivers are doing, right? You can't do it halfway.' Muniz was into racing before he even thought about acting. Growing up in North Carolina, he remembers waking early on the weekend to watch IndyCar and NASCAR races on TV. No one else in his family shared his interest in motorsports, so when his parents divorced shortly after Muniz was discovered acting in a talent show at age 8, his mother moved to Burbank, where he made his film debut alongside Louis Gossett Jr. in 1997's 'To Dance With Olivia.' Two years later he was cast as the gifted middle child of a dysfunctional working-class family in the successful sitcom 'Malcolm in the Middle.' Motorsports continued to tug at him so after running in a few celebrity events, Muniz twice put his acting career on hold to race, first in 2007 — shortly after 'Malcolm' ended after seven seasons and 151 episodes — when he started a three-season run in the open-wheel Atlantic Championship series. Still, Muniz, who lives with his wife Paige and 4-year-old son Mauz in Scottsdale, Ariz., is dogged by criticism he is little more than a weekend warrior who is using his substantial Hollywood reputation and earnings to live out his racing fantasies. 'I don't spend any of my money going racing,' he said. 'I made a promise to my wife that I would not do that. So I can kill that rumor right there.' But those whispers persist partly because Muniz hasn't completely cut ties with acting. Because the truck series doesn't run every weekend, racing 25 times between Valentine's Day and Halloween, Muniz had time to tape a 'Malcolm in the Middle' reunion miniseries that is scheduled to air on Disney+ in December. He has also appeared in two other TV projects and two films since turning to racing full time. But his focus, he insists, is on driving. 'If I wanted to go racing for fun,' he said, 'I would not be racing in the truck series. I'd be racing at my local track or I'd be racing some SCCA club events. I want to be one of the top drivers there are. I want to make it as high up in NASCAR as I can. And I'm doing everything I can to do that.' Fame outside of racing can be a double-edged sword in the high-cost world of NASCAR. It can open doors to a ride and sponsorships others can't get, but it can also cause jealousy in the garage, with drivers crediting that fame and not talent for a rival's success. And Muniz isn't the only rookie driver who has had to deal with that. Toni Breidinger, who finished 27th in Friday's race and is one place and eight points ahead of Muniz in the season standings with nine races left, is a model who has posed for Victoria's Secret and been featured in the pages of Glamour, GQ and Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition. She's also a good driver who has been going fast on a racetrack far longer than she's been walking slowly down a catwalk. 'I was definitely a racer before anything. That was definitely my passion,' said Breidinger, who started driving go-karts in Northern California when she was 9. 'I've been lucky enough to be able to do modeling to help support that passion. But at the end of the day, I definitely consider myself a racer. That's what I grew up doing and that's the career I've always wanted do to.' Still, she sees the two pursuits as being complementary. When Breidinger appears on a red carpet, as she did before this month's ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, it helps her modeling career while at the same time giving the sponsors of her racing team — which includes 818 Tequila, Dave & Buster's and the fashion brand Coach — added value. 'It's all part of the business. It all goes back into my racing,' said Breidinger, 26, who is of German and Lebanese descent. 'The side hustles, I like to call them. I don't think that takes away from me being a race car driver.' Breidinger, who won the USAC western asphalt midget series title as a teenager, raced in the ARCA Menards Series for five years before stepping up to truck series in 2021, making NASCAR history in 2023 when she finished 15th in her first race, the best-ever debut by a female driver. That helped her land a full-time ride this season with Tricon Garage, Toyota's flagship team in the truck series. Like Muniz, Breidinger sees the truck series, the third tier of NASCAR's national racing series, as a steppingstone to a seat in a Cup car. 'I want to climb the national ladder. That's what I'm here to do,' she said. 'I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have long-term plans and long-term goals. I'm a very competitive person, especially with myself.' Kyle Larson, who climbed to the top of that ladder, running his first NASCAR national series race in a truck in 2012, then winning the 2021 Cup championship nine years later, said the path he took — and the one Muniz and Breidinger are following — is a well-worn one. 'Anybody racing in any of the three series has talent and ability enough to be there,' he said. Funding, Larson said, and not talent and ability, often determines how fast a driver can make that climb and that might be a problem for Muniz since Josh Reaume, the owner of the small three-truck team Muniz drives for, has complained about the price of racing. It can cost more than $3.5 million a year to field one competitive truck in the 25-race series — and that cost is rising, threatening to price many out of the sport. But having drivers like Muniz and Breidinger in NASCAR will help everyone in the series, Larson said, because it will bring in fans and sponsors that might not have been attracted to the sport otherwise. 'I just hope that he can get into a situation someday where you can really see his talent from being in a car or a truck that is better equipped to go run towards the front,' Larson said of Muniz. 'You want to see him succeed because if he does succeed, it's only going to do good things for our sport.' And if it works out the way Muniz hopes, perhaps he'll someday be the answer to another trivia question: Name the NASCAR champion who once worked in Hollywood.
The Irish Sun
20-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Terminally-ill newsagent found to be a drug kingpin behind £52million sale of cocaine — just like TV drama Breaking Bad
A DYING newsagent was found to be a drug kingpin — just like TV drama Breaking Bad. Terminally ill Michael Williamson masterminded the sale of Advertisement 2 The newsagent run by terminally ill drug kingpin Michael Williamson Credit: Matthew Pover His decision to turn to crime has been likened to the hit US series in which chemistry teacher Williamson, 77, led a gang which sold more than half a ton of cocaine over ten years. He was arrested in 2019 when cops raided his home in Salford and newsagents shop in Poynton, Cheshire. They found cocaine worth £137,000, £33,000 in cash and notebooks with 'meticulous records' of names, deals and debts. Advertisement READ MORE UK NEWS Williamson, who had no previous convictions and never married, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply drugs in January at Bolton crown court . His sentence was waived because of his illness and he died earlier this month. Last month, three others admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. Former rugby league player Payden Candland, 33, got 19 years, nine months, Leo Groves, 33, got 15 years and Ricky Lee, 32, seven years. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Live Blog Sentencing them, His Honour Judge Clarke said the absent Williamson was at the 'very heart' of the conspiracy. A source said: 'There are similarities between Williamson and Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston weighs in on 'fun' Malcolm in the Middle crossover fan theory 'On the surface, he was a shopkeeper. In reality, he was trading in a very different powder from the lemon sherbet on his shelves.' 2 Terminally ill Williamson masterminded the sale of cocaine worth up to £52million - in a plot with echoes of Breaking Bad character Walter White Credit: Alamy Advertisement
Scottish Sun
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Terminally-ill newsagent found to be a drug kingpin behind £52million sale of cocaine — just like TV drama Breaking Bad
The terminally ill crook escaped jail due to his illness DRUG SHOCK Terminally-ill newsagent found to be a drug kingpin behind £52million sale of cocaine — just like TV drama Breaking Bad A DYING newsagent was found to be a drug kingpin — just like TV drama Breaking Bad. Terminally ill Michael Williamson masterminded the sale of cocaine worth up to £52million. 2 The newsagent run by terminally ill drug kingpin Michael Williamson Credit: Matthew Pover His decision to turn to crime has been likened to the hit US series in which chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, starts producing and distributing meth after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Williamson, 77, led a gang which sold more than half a ton of cocaine over ten years. He was arrested in 2019 when cops raided his home in Salford and newsagents shop in Poynton, Cheshire. They found cocaine worth £137,000, £33,000 in cash and notebooks with 'meticulous records' of names, deals and debts. Williamson, who had no previous convictions and never married, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply drugs in January at Bolton crown court. His sentence was waived because of his illness and he died earlier this month. Last month, three others admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. Former rugby league player Payden Candland, 33, got 19 years, nine months, Leo Groves, 33, got 15 years and Ricky Lee, 32, seven years. Sentencing them, His Honour Judge Clarke said the absent Williamson was at the 'very heart' of the conspiracy. A source said: 'There are similarities between Williamson and Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston weighs in on 'fun' Malcolm in the Middle crossover fan theory 'On the surface, he was a shopkeeper. In reality, he was trading in a very different powder from the lemon sherbet on his shelves.'
USA Today
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Bryan Cranston champions Ford's new philanthropy push at revived Detroit landmark
It's midmorning June 17 and actor Bryan Cranston is in a private room deep inside Michigan Central Station seated in an overstuffed lounge chair. He leans back, smiling and welcoming the respite from the grueling 82-degree heat he'd just endured for more than an hour outside, speaking in front of hundreds of Ford Motor Co. employees, dealers and some media. Cranston, 69, isn't complaining. Heck, he isn't even sweating. The Oscar-nominated star volunteered to be in Detroit to emcee the event to kick off Ford's new philanthropy program: Ford Building Together. The program aims to better unite Ford's nationwide dealership network and employees so that they can provide more efficient relief during disasters. Ford is partnering with four charities in the new program. 'I'm here to build that community, that's what it's all about," Cranston told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, of why he supports Ford's philanthropy work. "I'm tired of the vitriol and the rancor and the finger-pointing. We're better than that. We have a variety of different opinions on religion and politics and life. But let's find the commonality. This is one of those events that finds that commonality. This is a celebration of the American spirit.' The American spirit is fitting for Ford as the company touts itself as the most American of all the automakers, often citing the statistic that 80% of the vehicles it sells in the United States, it also assembles here. That is a timely message amid President Donald Trump's trade war, which seeks to encourage more U.S.-based manufacturing. A quiet philanthropist Cranston is most famous for playing the dad in the early 2000s sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" and more recently as playing Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer, in the hit 2008-13 drama "Breaking Bad." In 2016, he was nominated for Best Actor for the movie "Trumbo." Despite his movie star credentials, Cranston is a dedicated philanthropist, though he said this is the first time he has talked so openly about it. "I've been involved in philanthropy for quite a while. My wife and I have a fund set up for a variety of charities," Cranston said. "It was Jane Kaczmarek, who played my wife in 'Malcom in the Middle,' who said, 'Paying back, donating time, energy and money to charities is reciprocal to our good fortune and it kind of comes with the territory.' " He has used social media to promote his involvement with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children over the years. And, even with his business endeavors, Cranston makes an effort to give back. "I'm so blessed; I'm so lucky. Why not share it?" Cranston said. "I don't know how good I'd be as a mogul, wanting to make more and more. I want to make and share, make and share. That's what we discovered when Aaron Paul (costar in 'Breaking Bad') and I started our mezcal company Dos Hombres — we have to give back to the people of Mexico. It's the right thing to do." 'You want me to show up?' Cranston's ties to Ford started years ago. The relationship has taken him from rescue work with the automaker's philanthropy arm after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, to more recently his visit to Dearborn, Michigan Truck Plant to donning a hard hat to trapse through the very building he sat in on June 17: Michigan Central Station, well before it was renovated. Cranston's famous voice — a deep, gutteral baritone — won him a contract as the voice of Ford commercials starting in October 2018 with the launch of the "Built Ford Proud" campaign, according to Ad Age. He has also voiced Ford Philanthropy promotional videos. Before that, he said he has personally bought several F-150 crew cab pickups over the years, donating them to charities to use after hurricanes to rescue people in flooded areas. As for his personal car, Cranston has been driving an all-electric Mustang Mach-E for the past few years. So when Ford told him about this new philanthropy program that partners with the American Red Cross (Cranston said he donates blood regularly), Habitat for Humanity, Feeding America and Team Rubicon, he didn't hesitate to help. "Ford said, 'Do you wanna …?' I said, 'You want me to show up?' They said, 'Will you? Really?' I said, 'Yeah, yeah.' So here I am," Cranston said. Cranston's visits to Michigan To get to Detroit on June 17, Cranston took a day and a half off from the set of his latest project, a dark comedy movie being filmed in Champaign, Illinois, called "Chili Finger." It also stars Judy Greer, Sean Astin and John Goodman. The timing is interesting, too. Cranston said it was nearly four years ago to the date when he entered "this building wearing a hard hat and a vest, stepping over puddles and fallen cables and graffiti and broken marble … it was a mess." That was in 2021 or so and Cranston said he'd come to Michigan to do research for the 2022 movie "Jerry and Marge Go Large" costarring Annette Bening based on the true story of Jerry and Marge Selbee, of Evart, Michigan, who figured out how to win the lottery. Cranston took a detour from his research to come to Detroit during that visit where he met up with friends. While in the city, he took a tour of Dearborn Truck Plant to see the F-150 pickup being made and then he made his way to Michigan Central Station. "I came here to see what Ford was doing to this and why," Cranston said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh this is a huge undertaking.' I knew it was Bill Ford's baby and people thought he was a little crazy to do this and look at it now. It's gorgeous.' Executive Chair Bill Ford was on FOX News Channel's "FOX & Friends" the morning of June 17 talking to co-host Steve Doocy about the long-standing desire to repair the train station. "It had become a mecca for drug dealers and everything else. I drove by it almost every day and often, what happened was, there were stories, national stories about the decay of Detroit ... and this was often the visual," Ford said of the train station. Ford spent close to $1 billion to renovate the old train depot, which now holds shops, offices and soon, a luxury hotel. Since it opened to the public in June 2024, Ford said it has had about 300,000 visitors. On June 2, NoMad Hotels, an upscale boutique brand affiliated with Hilton and featuring a bourgeois-bohemian flair, said it plans to open an approximately 180-room hotel on the top floors of Michigan Central Station in the first half of 2027. Cranston's take on Detroit sports Cranston glances around at the marble walls. The sunlight pierces through the skylights illuminating the once downtrodden train depot. He is aware the building reflects the Motor City, a place he calls a "great town" that he visits often. "I'm really, really happy to see it come back," Cranston said. "There were times when I was here, where it was almost like a ghost town and to see that urban renewal is really rewarding.' Cranston has a couple of hours before he has to catch a flight back to Champaign, Illinois, and return to his real job. He doesn't mind going back to work, saying he is grateful that he gets to do what he loves for a living and it has given him a platform to help others. There is one regret though, being a Tigers fan, Cranston wishes he could have caught a game while here. "But the last time I was here, it was about a year and a half ago, and I'm from Los Angeles originally so I'm a Rams fan," Cranston said. "We came to play the Lions and the Lions beat us. They played a better game and they won. They've got a great team and it was a lot of fun." Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
