Dylan and Cole Sprouse
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Dylan (left) and Cole Sprouse as Zack & Cody Martin in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, 2005 |
Dylan Thomas Sprouse and
Cole Mitchell Sprouse (born
August 4,
1992) are
American twin brothers and
actors, sometimes collectively referred to as
DC Sprouse, Dylan & Cole, or the Sprouse Twins. They are perhaps best known for their roles in the film
Big Daddy, as Ross's son Ben on
Friends, and for portraying the title characters on the
Disney Channel series
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. As a result of the series' success, they have become "heartthrobs"
and "overwhelming draws" among
tween audiences.
Early life
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Dylan Sprouse as Zack Martin on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, 2006 |
The Sprouses were born in
Arezzo,
Tuscany, Italy to
American parents Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright, who at the time were teaching at an American
English language school in
Italy; Dylan, named after poet
Dylan Thomas, is fifteen minutes older than Cole,
who is named for jazz singer and pianist
Nat King Cole.
The twins moved back to the United States four months after their birth, and grew up in their parents' native
Long Beach, California. Their parents divorced in 1997.
Acting career
After a suggestion by their
grandmother, Jonine Booth Wright, who was a
drama teacher and actress, the Sprouses began acting at the age of six months, appearing in a
commercial for
toilet paper. As with many identical twin actors, the two have often played the same role, allowing more time for the character to be filmed. From 1993 to 1998, the two starred on the
ABC-TV series,
Grace Under Fire, playing one character, Patrick Kelly.
In 1999, the twins appeared in their first major feature film, the
Adam Sandler vehicle
Big Daddy, in which they played a boy adopted by Sandler's character; that year, Cole collaborated with Sandler on the second version of
The Chanukah Song, and the twins also had a minor role in the thriller
The Astronaut's Wife. Dylan Sprouse has noted that after
Big Daddy's release, the two entered into a "slow" period in their careers, and were not cast in any major roles for a time.
During the early 2000s, the twins appeared in episodes of the
The Nightmare Room and
That 70's Show, as well as in "
MADtv: Season Four (1998-1999)" (episode #425) and the feature films
The Master of Disguise and
Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, in a voice-over role. In 2001, Cole Sprouse appeared in several episodes of the television show,
Friends, as
Ross Geller's son, Ben.
Between 2002 and 2003, the two starred in
I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and
Just for Kicks, both of which were family films that received a
direct-to-video release. The Sprouses were subsequently cast in the
Disney Channel television series
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, where they play identical twins Zack and Cody Martin. The series, which debuted in March 2005, has become a ratings success
and the twins have become very well known among pre-teen and teen audiences. As part of their involvement with Disney, the brothers are now part of the 11-member group, the
Disney Channel Circle of Stars, and sang the song
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes along with the members of the circle, for a video that was released as bonus material in the special edition version of the
Disney film,
Cinderella. The Sprouses also participated in the
Disney Channel Games 2006, which began airing in June of 2006. Dylan is on the Red Team with
Zac Efron,
Kay Panabaker,
Anneliese van der Pol,
Shin Koyamada and
Moises Arias, while Cole is on the Blue Team, along with
Brenda Song,
Corbin Bleu,
Vanessa Anne Hudgens,
Monique Coleman and
Jason Earles.
The Sprouses played one character, Jeremiah, in the
independent film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, which was produced in 2004 but not given a theatrical release until March of 2006, when it played in a total of three theatres across the United States, ultimately grossing $29,000 domestically.
"Sprouse Bros." magazine
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Cole Sprouse as Cody Martin on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, 2006 |
In September 2005, the Sprouses signed a licensing agreement with Dualstar Entertainment to create a new commercial brand, entitled "Sprouse Bros", which will include
DVD movies,
CDs,
clothing,
sports gear,
video games, ring tones and
deodorants
targeted towards
preteen and
teen audiences. Dualstar has partnered with Leisure Publishing LLC to create a magazine called
Sprouse Bros. Code, which will target boys ages 8-14 with a guide on recent trends favored by the Sprouses; Cole Sprouse has stated that the magazine will appeal to "people who are our age and boys. We don't want anything too girlie",
while Dylan has said that it will have "something that will appeal to everybody".
The first issue became available on
July 18,
2006.
Personal life
Dylan Sprouse has stated that the experience of coming to fame after the success of
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody is "kind of scary, how fast everything is moving. Just a year ago none of this was happening, it was just doing 'Suite Life,' and now I can't wait for what's in store..."
While filming
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, the two receive on-set tutoring for three hours each day.
As of 2006, the Sprouses enjoy
snowboarding,
surfing,
basketball and
motocrossing,
as well as working on drawing a comic strip,
The Adventures of Tibblebu and Thumbin, based on a
stuffed animal of Cole's.
Cole Sprouse's favorite school subjects are
math and
science; he names
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as his favorite video game and
Forrest Gump and
Godzilla as the films he likes the most.
Dylan prefers
science, dislikes
math, and enjoys playing the videogames
Super Smash Bros. and
Super Smash Bros. Melee; his favorite film is
Napoleon Dynamite.
The twins have a dog named Bubba,
and their favorite actor and co-star is
Adam Sandler.
According to a May 2006 interview with
Mad Kids magazine, the Sprouses do not speak
Italian,
despite incorrect reports to the contrary:
[The Internet Movie Database and several other trivia web sites have incorrectly suggested that the Sprouses speak Italian.]Dylan: "...I don't really speak Italian except for "spaghetti", "Italian ice" (Yum!) and "Ferrari".
Cole: "I can't say anything in Italian. "Pizza, por favor" maybe?"
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Sprouse Bros. — Official website
