Frankie Muniz Says He Hasn’t Talked to Hilary Duff in 22 Years – Here’s Why

Frankie Muniz has opened up about why he hasn’t spoken to Hilary Duff in over 20 years. The actor shared the story during an interview on The Joe Vulpis Podcast earlier in September, where he talked about his time as a young actor and the events that led to him losing touch with his former co-star.

Muniz said that Duff was one of his first friends when he moved to Los Angeles to film Malcolm in the Middle. “Hilary Duff was probably one of my first friends when I moved to LA to film Malcolm [in the Middle],” he said.

Back then, many child actors lived in the same Burbank apartment complex, and that’s where the two met. They became close and stayed friends for several years.

Their friendship grew stronger when Duff invited Muniz to appear on an episode of Lizzie McGuire in 2002, a year before they filmed Agent Cody Banks together. But it was during that time that things started to change between them.

Muniz said that while he was visiting Duff on the Lizzie McGuire set, he had an encounter with her mom, Susan Duff, whom he described as “the epitome of a stage mom.” He said she was very involved, sometimes too much, while his own mom preferred to stay in the background.

During their conversation, Hilary’s mom asked him about his upcoming projects, and he mentioned that he was set to star in a movie called Agent Cody Banks. According to Muniz, Susan then asked if there was a female lead that might fit her daughter. He didn’t think much of it at the time, even though his contract gave him some say in casting decisions.

To his surprise, the next day, Hilary’s mom told him that Duff had been signed to star opposite him in the movie. Muniz said he hadn’t been told about the decision beforehand and was caught off guard. “Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled about it. And not because I didn’t want it to be Hilary,” he said, explaining that the studio had made the move without consulting him.

Muniz said that while filming went smoothly overall, things felt awkward on set. He got along well with the rest of the cast, especially Angie Harmon, but found it difficult when Hilary’s mom was around. He also mentioned that there had been a bit of a romantic element between him and Duff before the movie, which made things even more uncomfortable.

By the time filming ended, their friendship had faded. “If I told you I’ve never talked to Hilary since the last day of filming. I’ve not said one word to her since then,” he said on the podcast. Muniz admitted that he regrets letting their friendship go, saying, “I regret not just continuing to be friends with her because we had a great friendship for such a long time, and her mom… it pissed me off.”

Still, Muniz said he would like to reconnect with Duff someday and talk about what happened behind the scenes. “I would love to catch up with her,” he said. “I would love to even talk about that because I’m sure she doesn’t know any of that happened.”

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