NEWSFrankie Muniz Dishes on Bizarre End to Friendship With Hilary Duff: 'I Regret Not Staying Friends'
Frankie Muniz reflected on the bizarre end of his friendship with Hilary Duff in a new interview.
Nov. 1 2025, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Frankie Muniz has finally revealed the strange reason behind the end of his friendship with Hilary Duff following their work on the 2003 film Agent Cody Banks.
The former child stars, who first bonded in Hollywood, drifted apart due to Muniz's complicated feelings about Duff’s mother.
Frankie Muniz, a former child star, once shared a close friendship with Hilary Duff.
“Hilary Duff was probably one of my first friends when I moved to L.A. to film Malcolm [in the Middle]," Muniz reflected during the September 2 episode of "The Joe Vulpis" Podcast. He shared how they became close friends after being introduced through mutual connections in a Burbank apartment complex popular among child actors.
“We had a really great relationship for a long time,” he said.
In the early 2000s, Hilary Duff enjoyed a fun and close friendship with Frankie Muniz.
However, things took a turn when Duff, 38, invited Muniz, 39, to appear on her popular Disney show Lizzie McGuire in 2002. While on set, Muniz encountered Duff’s mom, Susan, who he now describes as “the epitome of a stage mom.”
“She was intense. Hilary was so cool, we had an awesome relationship, but her mom was super intense. And my mom was the opposite,” he explained.
Frankie Muniz described Hilary Duff's mom as the complete opposite of her.
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While working together, Frankie noticed how Susan would be involved in everything. “My mom would often ‘hide’ while I worked on set because she ‘didn’t want to be in the way,'" he claimed.
The plot thickened when Susan questioned Frankie about his summer plans. “I go, ‘Oh, I’m filming this movie where I’m playing like a junior James Bond. It’s called Agent Cody Banks,” he recalled. At that moment, Susan showed her interest in potentially casting Hilary in the film.
“I was shocked,” Frankie said about learning that Hilary would star alongside him. “Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled about it. And not because I didn’t want it to be Hilary.”
Frankie Muniz revealed that his falling out with Hilary Duff was partly because of problems with her mom.
He explained that the role was initially meant for another actress. “I don’t know how much I want to say. I’m trying to think about it because I’ve already said way too much,” he admitted, noting that filming was a fun experience but was overshadowed by his issues with her mom.
“Still, I had an amazing time making the movie, but I never talked to Hilary since the last day of filming,” he confessed. “I regret not just continuing to be friends with her because we had a great friendship for such a long time, and her mom… it pissed me off.”
Frankie Muniz said he would love to reconcile with Hilary Duff.
Despite the fallout, Frankie expressed hope for reconciliation in the future. “I would love to catch up,” he said. “I’m sure she doesn’t know any of that happened.”
