Frankie Muniz Admits He Turned Down ‘SNL’ Because of His ‘Huge Crush’ on Amanda Bynes

Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz revealed he turned down the chance of a lifetime – hosting Saturday Night Live – because he had a chance to meet Amanda Bynes.

“When I was acting, I moved to New York. I remember going into my new agent in New York’s office and I was like, ‘I want to be on All That. I want to be on The Amanda Show,’” Muniz, 39, said during a September 2 appearance on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis. “I had a huge crush on Amanda Bynes as a kid. But I thought, those are the funniest, most amazing shows. That was my dream.”

When the chance to meet his childhood crush presented itself, Muniz admitted he jumped at the opportunity.

“I got asked, the first year Malcolm was released, it was like January of 2000, and I got asked to cohost the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards April of 2000. And Amanda Bynes was one of the other cohosts,” he recalled. “And I was like, ‘I’m going to meet Amanda Bynes!’ It’s a huge deal.”

As luck would have it, he also got a call to host Saturday Night Live that same night. Muniz, 13 years old at the time, would have been one of the youngest stars to host the famed sketch comedy series, had he not turned down the offer.

“I’m like ‘Oh, hell no!’ I am going to the Kids’ Choice Awards. I don’t care. I’m meeting Amanda Bynes,” he said, adding that his mom, along with Fox executives, spent a week trying to change his mind.

“I was like, ‘Oh, no. I don’t back out of an obligation. I committed. I’m not going to back out of the Kids– they’re airing my commercials saying I’m going to be cohosting,’” he continued. “So, I met Amanda Bynes briefly.”

While the two child stars never dated, they went on to star together in the 2002 teen comedy Big Fat Liars.

Both Bynes, 39, and Muniz have since left acting. The She’s the Man star went on to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, graduating in 2019. She has since returned to school to become a manicurist.

Muniz, who admits he’s open to acting again after briefly returning for the Malcolm in the Middle reboot, is now a professional driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.