These are quotes I have collected from various sources, ie: magazines, the internet. More coming soon!
On his career choice for the future ~ "I might want to be a brain surgeon. Or an actor. Or both at the same time like someone on ER."
"It's very fun to be on Malcolm. Am I like my character? No not really actually. Dewey's actually a little bit cooler than Erik, actually."
Good news Malcolm fans ~"I think they're actually talking about a Malcolm in the Middle movie. I've heard guys on the set talking about it."
"I don't know if I'd consider myself famous but I'm pretty sure other people do. I just continue going to auditions, getting parts, I don't know... I never really expected to become famous actually. I never expected to become an actor."
On his middle name ~"It's pronounced "Pear" like the fruit. It's a common first name in Sweden. My mom is Swedish."
On his first kiss ~ "I haven't had one yet. I think girls are okay as friends, but yucky in other ways."
On how many times he'd been asked the same question all last summer ~ "[Sighs] Quite a few. How many times have I given the answer? Zero. They're like, 'Where's Dewey?!?! We've got to find this out!!!' and I'm like, 'Can't tell ya, bud. Tough luck.'"
On what to do when the boys grow up ~ "We’ll bring in naughty foster children."
On being a TV star ~ "It makes you behave a lot better in public. There are times store clerks have made me so mad and I want to yell and I don't, because you know they're gonna go blabbin' all over the neighborhood, 'She was such a nightmare!'"
"We have children. Our life is pretty much about changing diapers." [She and husband Bradley Whitford have two children, Frances who's 3 and George who's 1.]
"I hate to admit it, but we're all very, very much like our characters. I'm very, very loud and very opinionated, just ask my husband. Frank is very sweet and big hearted. Justin who plays Reese is what I call my meat and potatoes boy. He has his feet on the ground. Erik who plays Dewey is out to lunch and does wear his pajamas 24 hours a day."
On her fave episodes ~ "I really liked arm wrestling with my son, Reese in an episode where he wanted to stay up and watch a Chucky movie. ["Sleepover", Season 1] I liked the one where the kids burned my dress. I had to wear high heels in that one which hurt my feet. ["Red Dress", Season 1] Also I was pregnant in all the episodes, so I liked the ones where I didn't look fat." ~ Who could tell?
On times when Malcolm hits close to home ~ "The time Reese rollerbladed into the house with dog doo on his skates and put his feet up on the table." ["Rollerskates", Season 1] I love my husband, but he's always dragging something into the house on his shoes."
When asked if it's hard to keep a straight face while filming ~ "Yes. Especially hard was a scene where I get hit in the face with a spoonful of potatoes. ["Home Alone 4", Season 1] I knew if I laughed I'd have to do it again. Everyone cracked up around me, but I bit my cheek real hard to keep from laughing."
"Nobody recognizes me. My husband (Bradley Whitford) is on "The West Wing" -- everybody recognizes him. I can't tell you, there are times when we're in places and people are going, 'Oh, Brad, Brad, Brad!' and then they look at me and they say, 'Hello.' My theory is that I think they're afraid I'm going to yell at them. "
"Until I was finished with sixth grade, we grew up in a house in Milwaukee, with four kids and my mom and my dad. We had one bathroom, which is what the family in Malcolm has, which [we] never thought was odd. There was a toilet in the basement. You learned to really function very cooperatively with one toilet, and it just seemed like the most normal thing in the world. I love that that is the case on Malcolm, because I think a lot of people grew up that way," she says. "There's a certain familiarity about that."
On her night at the Emmys ~ "First of all, I didn't have a ticket. I had hired a publicist, who never got my tickets. So we literally went running up there. We were late because we were talking to everyone on the red carpet. We went from door to door trying to get in, and finally someone with a headset said, 'Yeah, I have a lady here. She says she's a nominee. She doesn't have a ticket.' So, we got in and it had already started. I was both physically and emotionally uncomfortable. I had just bought a girdle from Sears — that's the only place you can get a good girdle anymore — and it was killing me. I went to the bathroom, and you can't get back in till the next commercial, which I didn't know. It's bizarre because you can hear stuff going on in there, but they won't open the door. It was an odd evening. You're surrounded by people you don't know, and you don't know quite what to do. I love watching [on TV] with a girlfriend and a glass of wine, cutting everybody down," she laughs. "Award shows are fun on TV. Being there, I have to tell you they are very, very long."
On being asked what the sweetest part of being a teenager is ~ "Friends. You just call them up and say, 'Let's go hang out.' That's the best thing - to go out and have fun."
When asked about the worst part of being a teenager ~"Curfews!"
What he hates about school ~ "The work. I was talking to my friends and they had reports due during the break. We didn't have that in middle school."
If Justin was president, what would be one of the 1st laws he would pass ~ "No matter what age you are, you can get into an R-rated movie - or at least 15, 'cause that's how old I am."
On girls ~ "I'm fourteen so of course I am really interested in girls right now. It's hard for me sometimes cause I'm not really good at just walking up and talking to someone I don't know. I do date though, and mainly I look for girls who are really, really nice. Ones with good personalities and that are fun to hang out with. They can't be mean cause I don't like that at all. A typical date would be going to the movies or hanging at the mall. Pretty low key cause I can't drive yet!"
On his first kiss ~ "We were in the swimming pool and I was only five (laughing)! It was really funny and kind of watery. I moved away shortly after that and haven't seen her since."
"First of all my family is really, really supportive. They don't treat it like a job but like it's something fun I get to do like playing sports. When I first started they said that I could quit anytime I wanted so there has never been any pressure from them and at the same time they make sure I don't get a big head (laughs)! Of course being a celebrity does have its perks. Like me and Frankie (Malcolm) got to do this great thing one time. We got to go to Magic Mountain and ride all the rollercoasters because 'Access Hollywood' wanted to follow us around! So we got to go on all the new rides without waiting in line which is a major perk I would say! The not so good part is that everywhere you go people stare at you and sometimes that gets a bit uncomfortable. I mean I really like my fans and stuff but sometimes you're trying to have dinner with your family and it gets a bit weird. I do try to communicate with my fans though."
On getting his start ~ "I had a friend who was an actor...I saw him go on auditions and it looked kinda cool so I got an agent to try it out. I auditioned for a Folger's coffee commercial and I got it -- My very first audition! In my first two years of acting I did a ton of commercials and I got a reputation as the 'commercial kid!' The other stuff just followed from there I guess."
On starting "Malcolm" ~ "I was working on "Unhappily" and we knew the show wasn't gonna come back for another season so I was going out on auditions and stuff. It was the worst pilot season for kids my age and 'Malcolm' was one of the only ones [for kids], so every kid was going out on it! I went out and got called back a couple of times and then the last time was with all the people from the network, like twenty of them in this huge room which can be a little intimidating! But I went in and two hours later they called and said I got it! I love working on this show cause everyone is so cool and nice."
"I don't do any real competitive stuff although I used to compete in the martial art Tang-Soo Do and am a third degree red belt. I won some state and national tournaments but then I just got so busy with acting and school that there really isn't the time to pursue it anymore. I do love to fish though! Maybe it's because I'm a Pisces, but it's one of my favorite things to do. Also I have a lot of pets".
"It can be harder to be child actor because you have to balance work and school. But as a child you're luckier because you can only work 9 hours a day whereas adults can wind up working 24 hours a day. I think its pretty even though."
When asked what books he likes ~ "I don't read. I just read one book for school - The Client - that was good."
On his fave episode to film so far ~ "So far its been the water park." ["Water Park", Season 1]
"Reese has a soft side, especially when it comes to girls. I'd like to see him get into more relationships. It's so funny to see how he reacts when he likes a girl."
On Reese's laugh ~ "It sounds like a chipmunk. And the weird thing is, it wasn't in the script. I just did it myself when we were filming. I was goofing around and then the director said 'Hey, do that again.' So I did. It just snowballed from there."
Advice for Reese ~ "Calm down!"
Is he close to his character? ~ "No way! I don't go around beating up kids or stealing their lunch money! And I'm not that stupid. But I think Reese is a real character. He says whatever he wants."
On what he bought with his first big paycheck ~ "A new Mercury Mountaineer. I was so excited to get it. I wanted a new car for a million years because our old car was eight years old and dirty. I was embarrassed to go anywhere in it. When I'd meet my friends somewhere, I'd have my mom drop me off a hundred yards away. I'd rather walk, 'cause I was so embarrassed about that car."
When asked if he would ever want the "Malcolm" family to be his own. ~ "That would be a lot of fun. If your punishment is running around in circles, I'd love that. It's better than getting your TV and stuff taken away."
"The best thing about my job is getting to blow things up! We built this house just to blow it up."
"I've met Shaq, Vanna White... I look up to Jennifer Love Hewitt."
"I don't know if I want to act my whole life. Maybe up 'til high school. I'd like to be a director or producer some day...something behind the camera."
On his hair ~ "For Unhappily [Ever After] I didn't change my style until the third season. The hair lady asked me if I wanted her to spike my hair and since then I've kept it that way."
On who he enjoys playing more, Ross from Unhappily Ever After, or Reese from MITM ~ "I like playing Reese much better. He's more of a loud mouth and its fun playing a tough guy, I guess."
On "Malcolm" ~ "On the outside it’s zany and it’s crazy, but I think once you peel off that veneer, you have a real family, heartfelt togetherness."
Comparing himself to Hal ~ "Both Homo sapiens... Beyond that, not too many. Hal is a very sensitive sort, and Bryan is nowhere near as hairy as Hal is."
"That's the great thing about this show, to me, is you really can't put a finger on it and say, "Oh, I know what they're going to do next..." We still maintain the insanity, wrapped around a core of love, and that's what makes this show work. Specifically, to get into what's going to happen is kinda like telling you the punchline and then hearing the joke play out... it's kinda anticlimactic. So, just tune in... and laugh your arse off."
Comparing his own family to the "Malcolm" family ~ "My real family only walks around naked on Sunday. Whereas Hal and Lois are practicing indoor nudists. We don't have anywhere near the amount of kids, so it's a lot calmer... Nowhere near the chaos in my normal household. But in order to feel at home with my character, I sometimes hire neighbor kids to come over and tear the place up a bit."
"I'm happy to talk to the fans. You're the reason we've done so well. Thanks for watching!"
On his favorite episode so far ~ "It has to do with teaching Malcolm to rollerblade. ["Rollerskates", Season 1] And it turns out, much to Malcolm's embarrassment, that Hal was a disco roller boogie dancer. And it just absolutely embarrasses him. That was a lot of fun to shoot. I did have to learn to roller skate and learn some dance moves. And I've got a sore groin to prove it."
"In the first episode, you're seeing the razor blade go up my back...Well, that isn't me. I have the normal amount of body hair, I guess you'd say. But Hal is supposed to be a very hairy guy. So, they actually had to do a casting session for hairy guys. So, they brought in the shag carpet men, and they compared body shapes and picked someone with the closest body shape to mine, and he became my hair double. And they shaved his back. It took three makeup artists over three hours to apply on the hair when you see me in the long shots. I'm literally there in a loincloth... The life of a glamorous TV star."
"Lemme tell you something about the hazards of being a big fat TV star. Sometimes the limousine doesn't show up on time and you have to drive yourself. Oh yeah. Occasionally, the wardrobe is not exactly correct; there might be a button missing or something. That's when I blow my top. Next thing you know, there won't be any fruit smoothies on the set or something. You can't tolerate that kind of thing." (Don't worry folks, he's being sarcastic.....)
On the episode "Lois' Birthday". ~ "I think it's important to emphasize the family unit, and what's better than having a family all go out together and beat up a group of clowns? There's nothing more wholesome, more heartfelt. The family that fights together stays together, you know."
"In another episode, we go to an Indian gambling casino for a little vacation. And I don't do too well at playing cards until Malcolm tells me he can count the cards for me. So we start to use his genius and I bet and we win a lot of money. However, we have to give it back when we get caught. Lots of wholesome family entertainment. You use your underage child to cheat to try to win money -- that's bonding right there."
Computer time ~ "I like to e-mail and instant message people. I actually met Amanda Bynes [his costar in the upcoming movie "Pay or Play", originally titled as "Lost and Found"] online, and we became good friends before we even met. I enjoy e-mailing my fans back, too."
When asked what's the sour part of being a teen ~ "Until you get your license, it stinks. You want to go places and hang out, but you have to be driven there."
Does Frankie think teens are smarter than adults? ~ "Sometimes, with newer stuff like computers. But adults are adults. I've out-smarted them a couple of times..." What did he do to out-smart them? ~ "I don't want to say 'cause my mom's right next to me!"
On his plans for the future ~ "I want to go into geography. I'd like to be on the PGA tour. I'd also like to own a buffalo farm. Not to sell and eat them, but to bring them back because they're almost extinct."
On Christmas' past ~ "I'd always get one dollar and a tube of toothpaste in my stocking."
Frankie Muniz was at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18th and got to meet NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt before he got in his fatal crash. ~ "It didn't look to bad, but I was sort of like, 'Why is he not getting out of his car?'." Later on Frankie was in his hotel room when he heard the news on TV ~ "They said, 'We have very sad news in the NASCAR world,' and I was like, 'Don't say it, don't say it!' And they said it." Upon telling his mother, who was on the phone ~ "Nobody believed me. They're like, 'No, that's not true.' Nobody could believe it. Everyone was crying." On the trip home ~ "Nobody talked on the plane. The airport is sort of [near] the track, and when you left you could see where all the flowers were. That's the worst thing that could ever happen at a NASCAR race, and it happened." On meeting Dale ~ "[He was] the nicest guy. He's like, 'I love your show.' He said he watched it with his family every Sunday."
"There's a lot of people that used to sort of be my enemy. They used to beat me up and make fun of me, and all of the sudden I'm like their show and tell. They're like, 'Oh yeah, come and meet my friends!' So it's sort of weird like that but, you know, it's okay."
"I just like to be a normal kid — go to the movies, hang out with friends, just be a normal person. I don't think I'll get big-headed. I don't want to."
Comparing his character to Bart Simpson ~ "I think we're alike in a lot of ways, except that I'm a lot smarter."
On his on-screen girlfriends ~ "The only thing I can say to that is, let me pick her. I mean, I want to be happy.... My last [on screen] girlfriend was six years younger than me and that was a little weird."
What he did when he found out he had won the role of Malcolm ~ "I got on the bed and started yelling and jumping."
In "The Bots and the Bees", [Season 1], Lois makes the trip to Marlin Academy to be with Francis after he has to have an emergency appendectomy. While there, she gives Francis a sponge bath, so while filming, Chris had to sport ONLY a pair of underwear. ~ "My girlfriend [Laura Prepon ~ Donna/"That 70's Show"] was on the set and she couldn't' stop laughing! She took a Polaroid of me in my undies and now it's hanging on our refrigerator!"
On Laura Prepon ~ "I would go and hang out with my brother on his show and that's how I met Laura. I was absolutely attracted to her and we really hit it off and I guess the rest is history. She is so talented and I love her attitude in life. She is a really, really laid back person and she makes me laugh all day long. I think it's really important to be with someone who can do that!"
"Most of my family is out here in LA now so I try to see them and spend as much time as I can between working. I love to surf and when it gets a lot colder I go and snowboard a couple of days a week. I'm kinda funny in a way because I am really into solo sports and I don't play any team sports. Never really cared for them. I also climb a lot which is really challenging for me."
On filming "Cutthroat Island" with Geena Davis" ~ "It was the craziest experience. I kept getting hurt but in kind of strange ways. One time I was electrocuted! It was in front of the whole crew so it was really strange and surreal. Another time we were rehearsing a scene with me and Geena and this guy Stan, and Stan's horse bit my leg and then pulled me off the saddle and I fell down between the horses! A couple of months later I was doing a scene and was bitten in the face by a monkey (laughing)! Towards the end of filming we had a scene where we had to swim in the ocean and nobody wanted to swim near me because they thought I would get bitten by a shark! They thought I was jinxed!"
The rest is history ~ "I was working on another pilot for NBC when I got the script for Malcolm and really liked it. I met with Linwood Boomer who is the creator, and we kind of hit it off. So I went and we did it and it was really fun, and then my other show fell through so when we came back to shoot the first episode after the pilot they just made me a regular."
"I base Francis on how my older brother (Danny Masterson, who plays Steve on "That 70s Show") and I were seven years ago. The way I acted and when I got in trouble the way I tried to get out of it, that's how I play him and it's even more fun now cause I get paid to do it and don't have to pay the consequences!"
Chris worked with Julia Roberts in the movie "My Best Friend's Wedding" ~ It was so cool working with Julia she was such a great lady. She was starring in the movie so obviously she was really busy, but she never acted like a moviestar. She was just very cool with everybody. She would come on the set and know everybody's name from the craft service people to the grips and the cast...she was just such a pleasure to work with and be around."
"On acting ~ I have a level head about it all basically because of my mom I think. I don't know how I would have turned out without her. She has always made it very clear that acting did not hold the prime spot in my life. It wasn't number one. That there we so many other things that are important in life and it's just a job that I do and to be grateful to have a job that is fun, but not to take it for granted or think it is everything. I have always held that attitude and therefore if I don't get a part that I want or I get a part that gets cut out, I don't get jaded because it's really not that important to me. I think its so much fun what I do and I am happy to be working when I do!"
"I talk to myself a lot. Sometimes while I am driving people look over at me like I'm crazy! I have full conversations with myself. Like maybe there is something I am going to say to somebody later in the day or something I wish I had said ten years ago and I'll just kind of act it out for myself. I'm only one of the characters though so I can't hear the other character (laughs)....that's just kinda how I do it! It's a little quirky I guess. Oh, and I sleep naked too!"
When asked if anything funny has happened to the cast since the show began ~ "LOL! Well, Jane, who plays our mom, got pregnant! We've had a few injuries, which weren't that funny but are kind of funny now to look back on. Frankie, who plays Malcolm, tripped and hit his head on a powertool. And Eric, the youngest brother, had his cousin visit him on set one day. The ended up running into each other and they both got concussions."
"My first gig was a Trident Sugarless Gum commercial and I was 3 years old. I chewed gum in Central Park all day and ended up throwing up."
"We all get along really well. It's nice because we have a lot of kids on set and it makes the atmosphere really relaxed and playful. The adults are very cool as well. Jane, who plays Lois our mother, and I did a pilot together two years ago for FOX in which we also played mother and son."
"I was a bit of a troublemaker in my earlier years, I've since grown up a bit. Not to say that trouble isn't fun!"
"Everybody on "Malcolm" is very cool. I wouldn't say there's one person nicer than another."
"Most of the time, I hang out by myself because on our average episodes, the kids work in the morning. And I work military school at night. I actually enjoy being at school more than I do coming home because we shoot very quickly in the scenes at school. Not having the kids around makes everything go faster."
On his fave episode so far ~ "Hmm. My personal favorite is an episode called "Francis Escapes". It was a lot of fun to work on, I hope everybody likes it."
"In real life, I'm 20. On the show, we actually don't know my age. We also don't know where our family is from. And if you've noticed, we don't have a last name."
"I'd like to see Francis go places which aren't our house or military school. Because it's fun to get into a new environment. So far, I've gone to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and also to the Lucky Eight to work with my mom, and those episodes were really fun to shoot."
"I have a few friends who are actors. I also have some friends who work construction. And I even have a friend who's a garbage man."
When asked if the success of "Malcolm" is intruding in on his personal life ~ " No, not really. If anything, it's given me more opportunities to do better work. So I would say that "Malcolm" has enhanced my life rather than intruded on it."
On being a judge on MTV's "Say What Karaoke" ~ "The best part was getting to yell at teenagers. Being a teenager myself and being that I like getting yelled at... I had a great time"
The worst part of the biz ~ "Wearing makeup.... It feels horrible when they make you up, and then you fall asleep, and then they wake you up to do a scene... still very sticky."
His most embarrasing moment ~ "I used to be on a show called "The Road Home" when I was 13. One day we were shooting a scene on a dock, and during a close-up a dog peed on my leg. That was very embarrassing!"
"At some point, I'd like to direct. That has always been an interest of mine. I also wouldn't mind being a cowboy."
On Francis ~ "I really like the way the character is written. He always seems to get into trouble, but it always seems to come from a good place. I think he's more passionate than devious. So it's fun to play that kind of character."
"I love working with everyone on the show. They're all very different, but it's thoroughly entertaining to watch their personalites change as they become their characters. Especially Bryan, who plays Hal."
On who REALLY burned Lois' dress in "The Red Dress", Season 1 ~ "Yes it was Bryan Cranston who plays Hal, our dad". [Remember when he got home from the restraunt in the end of the episode and caught the couch on fire with his cigar?]
"Sometimes when I'm out in public, people will call me "Francis", which I don't like."
On drawing the line when is comes to acting ~ "I would never molest an animal. It's just too easy."
"It was amazing. We got to kick the piss out of these stuntmen. There's a great shot of us just beating clown ass and then the camera pans over to our mom and she's just smiling, like, 'Oh, those are my boys.'"
On co-star Erik Per Sullivan ~ "He seems like this sweet little kid, but he's thinking these demonic thoughts. He'll pull some kind of prank on you within 10 minutes of your arrival. (Sullivan has been known to slip a cupcake onto Masterson's seat just as he is about to sit down, or toss random objects out onto the set after the director yells 'Action!') "He also plays little mind games with you. He'll ask you questions and then confuse you so much that you can't do your lines." "He's actually very funny," he says. "He's our little jester."
"On any set, you have to watch for falling objects. I've seen lights fall out of the sky, like in The Truman Show."
