Things You Didn't Know About The Sprouse Twins

The unusual career trajectories of twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse defy Hollywood logic. The boys began their acting careers in typical child star fashion, playing the adorable role of Adam Sandler's adopted son in the comedy Big Daddy (1999) and headlining their own Disney Channel series, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08). Then, the boys walked away from it all, but instead of collecting mugshots or having meltdowns on social media like so many of their peers, Dylan and Cole went on to live shockingly well-adjusted lives. In fact, their lives seem to be so put together that actually makes no sense. How did they do it? Read on.

Most child stars get their fame from being, well, adorable, but it's a roll of the dice if that cuteness carries over into adulthood. The Sprouse twins have grown up to be drop dead gorgeous, somehow mastering a combination of pretty boy and grunge that has the ladies swooning.

The twins certainly know how to pose for the camera, and Cole often shows off his photography skills by posting photos with Dylan on social media. Cole posts so many photos of himself so often that Dylan teased him on Twitter saying, "How many pictures of yourself do you need to post a day Narcissus." Cole shot back with, "I thought half of these were of you?!" Besides, Cole wasn't the one caught on camera naked, but more on that later.

The way Cole and Dylan cut ties with the Disney Channel wasn't exactly all song and dance like one might expect. In an online interview for Conversations with Natalia, Dylan said the brothers felt that after six years, it was time to end The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, but they agreed to shoot one last season to wrap up the story of their characters if they could help write and produce the season. This would give the twins some experience and credit they could use toward their careers behind the camera and simultaneously give Disney the opportunity to create a spin-off and continue making money off the show. According to Dylan, the twins' idea was shot down and they were practically laughed out of the office. "That was kind of a big part of the decision [to leave Disney] because they didn't trust us enough after all this time," he said.

The network reportedly approached the twins a few weeks later with a different concept, which was a lot like Dylan and Cole's idea except it would take place in Miami and Selena Gomez would somehow be involved. Oh, and they wouldn't get producer credit. On the upside, this finally gave the twins the chance to laugh those Disney big shots out of the office.

In their interview for Conversations with Natalia, Dylan mentioned that part of their concept for a final season of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody was to introduce a new character. This character would be a young boy who lived in the hotel with his father, giving Zack and Cody the chance to take him under their wing. The show would follow their shenanigans for one season before Zack and Cody went off to college and to join the workforce, and the show would then continue to follow the new character.

Dylan said setting the show up for a spin-off was important to the twins because it would ensure the rest of the cast and crew members still had a job. They didn't want their decision to leave the show to put their friends out of work, which is a sentiment that is uncommonly considerate and rare in any industry, let alone in television. Unfortunately, the Disney Channel wouldn't let the twins receive producer credits, so the aforementioned scenario never saw the small screen. C'mon, Disney, like anyone reads the show credits anyway.

After all that drama with Disney, the twins shockingly don't seem to harbor any ill will toward the network, even though many of their peers do. In 2013, Joe Jonas might have gone a bit too far when talking about his experience working with Disney. In an interview with New York magazine, he talked about the pressure to always seem perfect and to "sugarcoat" everything. "Eventually, I hit a limit and thought, screw all this, I'm just going to show people who I am." While the Jonas brothers are certainly not the first Disney stars to attempt to break free from their squeaky clean images, the Sprouse twins have remained surprisingly civil.

Dylan actually spoke out against Jonas' remarks via Tumblr, calling Jonas' comments about being robbed of his creativity "bulls***." Dylan wrote, "Nowadays artists just assume they have to do what they are told by their proprietors because there is a 'rigid structure to achievement'. It is nothing more than a scheme to rob you of your individuality and capitalize the gain they acquire from such treachery... Individuality is modernity's most interesting trait regarding artwork and so many talented individuals realize this. You do not have to become something else to be successful." That's what you call dropping the mic on the high road.

After the Sprouse twins left Disney and announced their break from acting, many fans were surprised to learn they had enrolled in college. Many a child star takes advantage of the fact that they already have high-paying gigs and can easily forego higher education or create a personalized degree that suits their needs. Cole and Dylan actually planned for an everyman's future, which is kind of insane. Not only did they attend school, but they also graduated with honors and earned degrees in fields that aren't acting!

Dylan talked about his decision in a 2015 interview with Teen Vogue. "The one thing I knew for sure about myself is I didn't want to study acting," he said. "It was something we had done and something that we don't really need to train all that much more for." According to MTV News, the twins graduated from New York University as part of the class of 2015. Cole received a degree in archaeology, while Dylan earned his in video game design. Oh, and lest you think they've matured too much and lost their signature sense of humor, the guys pulled off a classic twin prank at graduation, switching places to receive their diplomas. "In fact, if you look up my graduating photo you'll see," Dylan told Teen Vogue. "We just decided, you know, there's no reason not to. No one's going to notice."

Though they may have tried to leave fame behind, Cole and Dylan may forever be recognized as Zack and Cody. Cole especially seems to try hard to stay out of the news, but that doesn't stop his fans from doing anything they can to snap a photo of him. So how does he fight back? Cole created a hilarious Instagram page appropriately dubbed @camera_duels where he catches fans trying to nonchalantly (or not) take his picture. It's a duel to the finish, and Cole is determined to snap and post his photo first. Perhaps this is his way of discouraging fans from taking his photo without his permission.

Aside from acting, Dylan and Cole have been known to work average Joe jobs. While the two have dabbled in writing and photography, Dylan also got a job as a host at a restaurant in New York City. Photos quickly emerged of him in his new position, which fueled rumors about him having spent all of his acting money. The gossip got so bad that Dylan was forced to clear things up on his Tumblr page. "I did not take this job because I 'lost all my money,'" he wrote. "I am financially secure, and took this job as a way to primarily feed my over bountiful video game addiction." He went on to explain that he was just trying something new and thought it would be a good way to get out of the house and meet new people. Being a host doesn't exactly sound like the best way to make new friends, but if you're a child star who's never had a crappy minimum wage gig before, the restaurant biz could be a great way to fully understand what the rest of the world is always bitching about.

Aside from his gig as a host, which didn't last long, Dylan is also working on his own microbrewery and bar. All-Wise Meadery brags about being owned by the youngest Master Brewer in the United States, who is none other than Dylan himself. Perhaps his hosting gig inspired him to learn the craft and open his own place, bringing Brooklyn just what it needs: another micro-brew.

Celebrities busted for cheating scandals or sex tapes are always apologizing to their fans, as if somehow the celebrity did something terrible to the fan when, in truth, the stars were just being themselves. Dylan and Cole don't apologize, even when a so-called scandal hits the press. In 2013, several naked photos of Dylan were leaked to the world, allegedly by a bitter ex-girlfriend, but the twins didn't bat an eye.

They did, however, post a few hilarious tweets. "Whoops, guess I'm not 14 and fat anymore," tweeted Dylan. "I messed up...but I'd be a fool not to own up to it. Got to move past it I suppose...move past it in a sexy way tho." Cole definitely took first place on the best tweet about the sexy selfie: "Cold in that bathroom huh?"

Even Cole and Dylan hoped their celebrity status would fade and they'd have a chance at a normal life, and yet, here we are writing about them and their continued opportunities in Tinsel Town. The twins may have tried to become irrelevant, but their hilarious tweets, good looks, and down-to-earth demeanor only kept fans wanting more. They're back at it and in a big way, clearly learning from their Disney colleagues about what not to do after leaving the network. The twins are both returning to acting. Dylan will star in the upcoming thriller Dismissed, and Cole is starring as Jughead Jones in CW's teen series Riverdale, based on the Archie comics. If they're still relevant now, we can only expect to hear more about the Sprouse twins when their latest projects reach the masses.