Frankie Muniz revealed during last month’s episode of “The Joe Vulpis Podcast” that he hasn’t spoken to Hilary Duff in 22 years since they starred together in “Agent Cody Banks” (via People). Muniz accused Duff’s mother of intervening in the film’s casting process and allegedly trying to cast Duff as the female lead in the action-comedy behind Muniz’s back, creating a rift between the two young actors.
Muniz and Duff met as teenagers and began their careers around the same time, with Duff’s Disney Channel series “Lizzie McGuire” premiering in 2001 and Muniz’s Fox sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle” premiering in 2002. Muniz also made a cameo appearance as himself in Duff’s series.
“We became really, really good friends. We had a really great relationship for a long time,” Muniz recalled. “I was on the set of ‘Lizzie McGuire,’ and I was in Hilary’s dressing room, and her mom was there… Her mom was like, ‘Do you know what you’re doing this summer? What are you doing this summer?’ And I think, ‘Oh, I’m doing this movie where I’m playing like Junior James Bond.’
Muniz allegedly told Duff’s mother all about Agent Cody Banks, and her mother responded by asking if the movie still had a female lead. According to Muniz, producers were already interested in casting Young Ville star Kristin Kreuk in the supporting role, and when they read the script, they “really thought” that Cody’s love interest, Natalie Connors, would be played by her. However, plans suddenly changed. Muniz said that the next time he spoke to Duff’s mother, which was the very next morning, she told him that Duff had already been cast.
“Her mother said, ‘You know what? We’re going to spend the summer together…she’s doing ‘Cody Banks’ with you…we signed the contract last night,'” Muniz said, adding that she remembers being shocked and thinking, “A movie I didn’t know anything about yesterday?”
Muniz said he was surprised when it came to finding a co-star for “Agent Cody Banks,” as he thought he was at a point in his career where he wanted to work with a studio. He called his agent and confirmed that he had “received a call” about casting Duff in the role. Since he was already close to Duff, as evidenced by his cameo on Lizzie McGuire, his agents “just thought it was okay.”
“Needless to say, I wasn’t excited about it. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be Hillary,” Muniz said. “I don’t know how much I want to say. I’ve already said too much and I’m trying to think.”
Agent Cody Banks ended up going into production starring Muniz and Duff, with Muniz saying, “I was so sad when Hilary’s mom ended up coming on set…and I mean, I haven’t talked to Hilary since the last day of filming. I haven’t talked to her since. So that’s the truth. Nobody knows about my Hilary Duff story.”
Later, Muniz opened up about her guilt over not being able to continue her friendship with Duff because of what her mother allegedly did behind her back.
“I regret that we didn’t continue our friendship with her because we had a great friendship for so long and I let her mother do it…It made me angry,” Muniz said. “I would like to get closer to her[in the future]and I would like to talk about it too, because I don’t think she would know anything like that that happened.”
Agent Cody Banks, directed by Harald Zwart, was released theatrically by MGM in March 2003 and grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. Muniz played the title role, a 15-year-old teenager who infiltrates the CIA as a superspy. The supporting cast included Angie Harmon, Keith David, and Ian McShane. Muniz returned for the 2004 sequel Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, but Duff did not.
Watch Muniz’s full interview on “The Joe Vulpis Podcast” in the video below.
