Dylan and Cope Sprouse have been in the spotlight almost all their lives. When they were just 8 months old, the beautiful twins with enchanting blue eyes found themselves being part of commercials, films, and TV shows. The two notably shared the role of Patrick Kelly in the series Grace Under Fire from 1993 to 1998 and became people’s favorites.
Just as the Olsen sisters, the Sprouse twins shared plenty of roles due to child labor laws that prevent children from working too many hours.
They had their big breakthrough in 1999 when they both starred alongside Adam Sandler in the film Big Daddy and stole the hearts of millions of people with their perfectly timed lines and incredible performances.
Speaking with People about Sandler, Cole said in 2022, “Perhaps I’m a bit biased because I’ve known him for ages, but I do admire his career. He’s got a really, really wonderful balance between art and commerce that I think is the currency of a real working actor.” He continued, “He’s walking that line beautifully, and he’s raising up all of his friends at the same time, which I think is incredible.”
In 2020, Cole went on to play on his own when he was cast for the role of Ross Gellar’s son, played by David Schwimmer, in the iconic series Friends.
Speaking of his favorite episode, Cole revealed it was The One with the Holiday Armadillo. “I remember that quite well. I was infatuated with the costumes and the practical effects that they had,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with Jennifer Aniston, which the whole world had at that point. But I do remember being quite intimidated around her because of that. I remember blanking on my lines and having kind of stage fright when she sat next to me on the couch in one episode,” Cole revealed in an interview with Today.
The brothers then shared yet another role, that of young Pistachio Disguisey, in the film Master of Disguise.
However, landing The Suite Life of Zack and Cody in 2005, in which they played twin brothers who live in the lavish Tipton Hotel with their single mom, helped place them on the map as full-fledged child stars. The series ran until 2008 and was followed by The Suite Life on Deck, which ran until 2011.
Following the series, Dylan and Cope both took time off acting in order to attend university. While Dylan studied video game design, his twin brother Zack turned to the humanities and archaeology.
“I needed to take a break and step outside myself; I needed a dose of reality; and I needed to see myself from a more objective point of view. And now I think I can enjoy [acting], which is a really fundamental part of being an actor,” Cole said. “I’m not saying that we didn’t enjoy that time, but it was work. It’s a career and a business, and it got me to college, which is one of the most fantastic gifts I could’ve been given. But I’m glad to be acting on my own accord now.”
After graduation, these handsome brothers returned to acting. Cole, who is currently dating French-Canadian model Ari Fournier, landed the role of Jughead Jones on Riverdale, and Dylan, who is engaged to the Sports Illustrated model Barbara Palvin, started out in films like Dismissed and Banana Split.
“It’s more likely that I will write something for us to work on together than for someone to approach us. Twin movies are never good! That’s just the universal truth I think the universe has given to us, and so if we can find the right thing then, yeah,” Dylan said in 2020.