“I don’t know if I made a conscious decision, but it just stuck with me that I was never gonna drink or do anything,” said the actor-turned-race car driver, who shared that people have been “shocked” or “appalled” to learn of he doesn’t drink.
Frankie Muniz is 38 years old but has “never” tried alcohol.
While appearing on a recent episode of Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown podcast, the actor-turned-race car driver has revealed he doesn’t drink and has “never had a sip of alcohol” or taken drugs.
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“Were you raised in a tradition that did not drink,” Bialik asked Muniz, who replied, “Every family member in my family drinks. And that’s what they do for fun.”
“I tried to figure out why I didn’t, because I don’t have a reason. It wasn’t, like, a religion,” he continued, admitting that it may stem from his “hatred toward time.”
“When I was 15, 16 years old, I felt like I was so old. I had experienced so much. And I had experienced a lot in my life in comparison to most 15 or 16-year-olds,” the former child star continued, “but even though I was in the entertainment business, I never saw it, meaning the drug use, any of that stuff. I somehow stayed away. I just went to the set and did my thing.”
“I grew up thinking the only people who smoked pot were criminals…on episodes of Cops,” he added with a laugh. “Now I talk to my dad about it and my mom, and they’re like, ‘We smoked pot every single day, you just didn’t know.'”
The Malcolm in the Middle alum said that he wasn’t “around” alcohol until he was 18.
“In my mind, I felt like I had made it so long without it, I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to start now, even though I was only 18,'” Muniz said.
He went on to share how people would have “strong” reactions when he would decline when offered an alcoholic beverage.
“I couldn’t believe everyone’s reactions when I said I don’t drink. ‘Oh, we’re at a club, we have a bottle. You want a drink?’ ‘No, I don’t drink. I’m good with water.’ Everyone was either shocked or … appalled that I didn’t drink. Or they’d be like, ‘Wow, that’s so strong of you.'”
“I was always kind of like, ‘It’s so weird that people have such a strong reaction to me not drinking,'” he said. “Like, who cares? ‘I don’t care what you do. Why do you care so much about me?’ I don’t know if I made a conscious decision, but it just stuck with me that I was never gonna drink or do anything.”
“But now I’m 38, and I think I’m going to start tonight,” he joked. “Only kidding.”
