These days, Frankie Muniz is balancing his racecar driving career with the Malcolm in the Middle revival on the 2026 TV schedule. Back in the early 2000s, he also had a lot to balance, and he couldn't say yes to everything. Case in point, he was asked to host Saturday Night Live in 2000; however, he ended up saying no for an (adorable) Amanda Bynes-related reason.
Frankie Muniz told People about getting the exciting opportunity to co-host Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards in 2000. As a child actor, who wouldn’t want the chance to get slimed and share the podium with his co-host, Amanda Bynes? However, the Agent Cody Banks star recalled another thrilling opportunity he was offered that I'd assume most wouldn't turn down:
I remember my mom getting a call maybe a month before and she’s freaking out on the phone. She’s all excited. And she came down and she was like, ‘You just got asked to host Saturday Night Live!’ And I’m like, ‘What’s that?’ I didn’t really know, right? I was a kid. And she was like, ‘It’s a big deal! It’s this cool thing!’
What an honor! Leading the cast of Malcolm in the Middle gave the entertainment world a chance to see Frankie Muniz’s comedy chops, and getting asked to host SNL clearly means NBC has faith that the child star could carry an episode of the beloved live show. And to be among the biggest stars of the sketch series and performing live from New York is iconic.
Article continues belowHowever, as much of a career milestone SNL would have been for the Racing Stripes actor, there was one roadblock that got in the way of that:
I go, ‘What’s the date?’ And it was the same date as I was supposed to host the Kids’ Choice Awards. And I was like, ‘Nope, not doing it.’ I was like, ‘I’m a man of principle. I committed to Nickelodeon. I’m going to co-host it. They’ve been advertising it. I can’t let them down.’
Aww, that’s a real suckerpunch. While I can appreciate Frankie Muniz being “a man of principle,” it's hard for me to comprehend someone turning down SNL. However, he had more than one reason for saying no. Other than committing to Nickelodeon, the professional racecar driver explained his true intentions for putting the sketch comedy show on the back burner:
But really deep down, I just wanted to meet Amanda Bynes. Yeah, that’s the truth. I’m, I think, the only person in history to turn down hosting Saturday Night Live and I’m still questioning that decision now 30 years later.
That’s the cutest thing! While Frankie Muniz has previously spoken about having the “biggest crush” on Amanda Bynes back then, I’m loving all of the new details I’m hearing about being stuck between two hosting gigs. Meeting the All That star ended up being a good thing, as the two later starred in the funny family movie Big Fat Liar and became good AOL chat buddies. While Muniz said they lost touch after the movie’s premiere, it’s nice that he still has fond memories of his former co-host.
However, talk about being between a rock and a hard place (or in this case, two hosting gigs). Although Frankie Muniz’s reasoning is very understandable. I get that he wanted to co-host a fun kids’ show and the chance to share the podium with his crush. While I’ll always wonder what Muniz would have been like as an SNL host, NBC couldn't get him because of green slime and Amanda Bynes.
Who knows, though, maybe someday he'll get the chance to perform in Studio 8H. However, for now, you can catch the Emmy nominee in Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair with a Hulu subscription or a Disney+ subscription.
