Malcolm in the Middle<\/em> star Frankie Muniz<\/strong><\/a> revealed he turned down the chance of a lifetime \u2013 hosting Saturday Night Live<\/em> \u2013 because he had a chance to meet Amanda Bynes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was acting, I moved to New York. I remember going into my new agent in New York\u2019s office and I was like, \u2018I want to be on All That<\/em>. I want to be on The Amanda Show<\/em>,\u2019\u201d Muniz, 39, said during a September 2 appearance<\/a> on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis<\/em>. \u201cI had a huge crush on Amanda Bynes as a kid. But I thought, those are the funniest, most amazing shows. That was my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n When the chance to meet his childhood crush presented itself, Muniz admitted he jumped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cI got asked, the first year Malcolm<\/em> 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,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018I\u2019m going to meet Amanda Bynes!\u2019 It\u2019s a huge deal.\u201d<\/p>\n As luck would have it, he also got a call to host Saturday Night Live<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m like \u2018Oh, hell no!\u2019 I am going to the Kids\u2019 Choice Awards. I don\u2019t care. I\u2019m meeting Amanda Bynes,\u201d he said, adding that his mom, along with Fox executives, spent a week trying to change his mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, no. I don\u2019t back out of an obligation. I committed. I\u2019m not going to back out of the Kids\u2013 they\u2019re airing my commercials saying I\u2019m going to be cohosting,\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201cSo, I met Amanda Bynes briefly.\u201d<\/p>\n While the two child stars never dated, they went on to star together in the 2002 teen comedy Big Fat Liars<\/em>.<\/p>\n Both Bynes, 39, and Muniz have since left acting. The She\u2019s the Man<\/em> star went on to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, graduating in 2019. She has since returned to school to become a manicurist.<\/p>\n Muniz, who admits he\u2019s open to acting again<\/a> after briefly returning for the Malcolm in the Middle<\/em> reboot, is now a professional driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/staging.starmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/icphotos164452.jpg\")
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