The Story of a Young Actor Whose Disorder Made Him Forget a Huge Part of His Life

The world got to know Frankie Muniz back in 2000 when he played a genius boy in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. The show was a huge success. It got several meaningful television awards, including an Emmy and a Grammy, and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Years after the show was over, Frankie made headlines when he confessed he didn’t actually remember much about taking part in the sitcom that made him so famous.

The story of Frankie Muniz amazed us here at Bright Side, and we believe it can inspire many people with health disorders to live their lives as fully as they can.

Malcolm in the Middle made Frankie Muniz a star, but he can’t remember taking part in the show.

In a series of interviews back in 2017 Frankie Muniz, now 33, candidly told the world he had been struggling with a significant memory loss that made him forget a huge part of his life. Strange as it may seem, the actor who became so popular thanks to Malcolm in the Middle doesn’t remember much about taking part in it, and barely recognizes himself when he re-watches the episodes now.

“Most people would think that my most memorable year would be the year Malcolm in the Middle started, because it allowed me to live all these dreams of mine. But the truth is, I don’t really remember much of that. It almost feels like it wasn’t me,” says the actor.

It turns out that Frankie can’t remember taking part in the Emmy Awards ceremony in 2001 either. “To be honest, I don’t remember going to the Emmys when I was nominated. I don’t specifically remember being nominated, or what I felt, or what we did. My mom told me we went to the dentist that day,” Frankie says. He adds that over the past decades his mom would reminisce about some memorable events of his life, but they all sounded like new stories to the actor.

What is it that is making Frankie forget the most meaningful episodes of his life?

Frankie says, when he was a kid he didn’t think he was not OK or that something wrong was happening with his memory. It seemed to him that it was pretty normal and that he wasn’t supposed to remember things. The reason for the actor’s severe memory loss still remains unclear, but he confessed that during his life, he’s had several concussions and a number of transient ischemic attacks, or mini-strokes, which means his brain was cut off from its blood supply for a short time during these episodes.

Frankie left his acting career for a while, but he’s enjoying his life to the fullest.

Frankie Muniz doesn’t let the disorder interfere with his plans and he is living a life full of adventure. He takes part in TV shows, including Dancing with the Stars, and he’s also a professional car racer. The actor doesn’t like to discuss his memory loss, and he only speaks about it when he’s asked direct questions. Frankie is optimistic and he doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him. After all, he doesn’t feel sick.

“This is my life and I’ve moved forward. It doesn’t stop me from being anywhere I want to be. I’m only reminded of how bad my memory is when people I see, they come to me and go, ‘Oh, you remember when we did this?’ And I have no recollection of it. But in my head, it’s not like I feel bad or sad about it,” Frankie says.

The idea of losing his good memories is sad for Frankie, however. But this is when his beloved fiancée Paige comes to the rescue. Paige keeps a journal where she puts down all the memorable episodes of Frankie’s life that he loves to re-read so much. This journal is very helpful, and it lets Frankie recall the feelings and emotions he experienced at a particular moment. It’s something that pictures cannot do.

“She writes in a journal that I can look at every day and it’s really cool, because it has amazing detail. She started doing that about a year ago and hopefully she’ll continue. I hope we have a lot more memories together.”

Apart from traveling and car-racing, Frankie still enjoys acting and he hopes to get back to his acting career in the near future. We believe that the story of Frankie and his memory loss once again proves that it’s important to keep your head held high no matter what happens and never let your disorder define you and keep you from moving forward. Would you agree?

What do you think about Frankie’s story? Do you know someone who has a health issue, but is living their life to the fullest? Share your stories in the comments and inspire other readers!