Frankie Muniz didn’t speak to Hilary Duff because of ‘intense’ mom

Frankie Muniz hasn’t spoken to Hilary Duff since they made Agent Cody Banks because of her “intense” mom.

Frankie Muniz hasn’t spoken to Hilary Duff for over 20 years because of her “intense” mom.

The Malcolm in the Middle actor was “really, really good friends” with the Lizzie McGuire star in the early days of his career but their bond fell apart when they worked together on Agent Cody Banks because of the circumstances surrounding his former pal’s casting.

Speaking on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, Frankie said: “Hilary Duff was probably one of my first friends when I moved to LA.

“We became really, really good friends. We had a really great relationship for a long time. She asked me to do Lizzie McGuire, which I was like, ‘Yeah!'”

While shooting an episode of the Disney series in 2002, Frankie had an awkward encounter with Hilary’s mom in his pal’s dressing room.

He said: “Her mom was, I’m gonna say the epitome of a stage mom. Momager. She was intense. Hilary was so cool, we had an awesome relationship, but her mom was super intense.”

Hilary’s mother asked Frankie what projects he had in the pipeline for that summer when Malcolm in the Middle would be on hiatus.

He continued: “I go, ‘Oh, I’m filming this movie where I’m playing like a junior James Bond. It’s called Agent Cody Banks.’

“And she’s like, ‘Is there a girl that could be Hilary, that would be good for Hilary?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I dunno.'”

Frankie didn’t mention he had been given input into who would be cast as the female lead and he was hoping Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk would play Natalie Connors but just a day later, the 39-year-old star was blindsided by some news.

He said: “The next morning I show up to the set, I go into her dressing room to hang out, and her mom’s like, ‘Guess what? We’re gonna be spending the summer together!’

“She was like, ‘We’re gonna be up in Vancouver together!’ I’m like, ‘Oh, what’s Hilary filming? Is she filming a movie up there too? That’s awesome! We’ll get to hang out, we’ll have dinners.’ She goes, ‘No, she’s doing Cody Banks with you.’

“I looked at her and I went, ‘No she’s not!’ She’s like, ‘No, yeah, yeah, she is. They signed the contract last night.’ And I’m like, ‘The movie you knew nothing about yesterday, you signed — how — it’s not possible! It’s not humanly possible.'”

The Racing Stripes star called his agents to find out how the casting had happened without his input.

He recalled: “I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m just wondering’ — I wasn’t mad, it was just shocking, ’cause I had the say, they didn’t ask me.

“Supposedly, calls were made, and they knew that Hilary and I were really close, and I was filming her show, so they just assumed it was fine. So needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled about it.

“And not because I didn’t want it to be Hilary. Just because they went around me.”

After working on Agent Cody Banks together, Frankie and Hilary never spoke again.

He said: “I was very sad when Hilary’s mom would come on set [for Agent Cody banks] I’m being honest, you know what I mean? I’m old enough to where I realise I don’t mind people knowing the truth.

“I’ve never talked to Hilary since the last day of filming. I’ve not said one word to her since then. So that’s the truth that no one knows about.”

The racecar driver regrets falling out with Hilary and is keen to reconnect.

He said: “I look back at it now, and I go like, what a dumb — I regret not just continuing to be friends with her.

“We were friends. We had a great friendship for such a long time. And I let her mom — it p***** me off.

“I would love to catch up with her. I would love to even talk about that, ’cause I’m sure she doesn’t know any of that happened.”