Cole Sprouse


Cole Mitchell Sprouse is an American actor, known for his role as Cody Martin on the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spinoff The Suite Life on Deck. In his early career, when a child and teenager, he appeared in various projects alongside his twin brother Dylan Sprouse. In 2017, Sprouse began starring as Jughead Jones on The CW television series Riverdale.

Early life and education

Cole Mitchell Sprouse was born in Arezzo, Italy, to American parents Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright, while they were teaching at an English language school in Tuscany. Cole was born 15 minutes after his older twin brother Dylan Sprouse. Cole was named after jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole. Four months after his birth, the family moved back to their parents' native Long Beach, California.

Career

Cole and his brother, Dylan, began acting at the age of eight months following a suggestion from their grandmother, Jonine Booth Wright, who was a drama teacher and actress. Much of Sprouse's early career was shared with his brother—some of their earliest roles were shared roles as one baby or child in commercials, television shows, and films. Due to child labor laws in California restricting the amount of time children can be filmed in a day, casting twins in a single role allows more time for one character to be filmed. Some notable roles he shared with his brother include the characters of Patrick Kelly in the sitcom Grace Under Fire from 1993 to 1998, Julian in the 1999 film, Big Daddy, and young Pistachio Disguisey in 2002's The Master of Disguise. In 2001, Cole began appearing in episodes of NBC's television sitcom Friends, as Ross Geller's son, Ben; this role was his first role in which he did not appear with his brother. As he and his brother grew older, they began taking on more roles as separate characters but often still worked on the same projects. Their first role as separate characters in the same production was as kids in a MADtv sketch. Sprouse portrayed Cody Martin in the 2005 Disney Channel original series, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody alongside his brother; he reprised the role in the show's 2008 spinoff, The Suite Life on Deck and its related film.
On February 9, 2016, Sprouse was cast as Jughead Jones in The CW's teen drama series Riverdale, based on the characters of Archie Comics. The series premiered on January 26, 2017.
In 2019, Sprouse starred in Five Feet Apart, a romantic drama which was released in March and performed well at the box office. He plays a cystic fibrosis patient who falls in love with a girl with the same disease. It was his second lead role in a major theatrical film, 20 years after his first, Big Daddy.
Sprouse produced and starred in the eight-episode podcast Borrasca, in 2020.

Personal life

Sprouse is a fan of comics and worked at the Los Angeles comic store Meltdown.
Sprouse began attending New York University in 2011, after deferring one year. Initially interested in studying film and television production, he decided to enroll instead in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, pursuing the humanities and in particular archaeology. He graduated alongside his brother in May 2015. Sprouse worked briefly in the field of archaeology, participating in excavations and performing lab work. He specialized in geographical information systems and satellite imaging. During his studies he performed summer digs in both Europe and Asia. While engaged in his undergraduate work, he unearthed a mask of Dionysus on a dig in Bulgaria.
Sprouse has an avid interest in photography. In 2011, he launched a personal photography website and took classes at NYU. He has had shoot assignments for major fashion publications including Teen Vogue, L'Uomo Vogue, The Sunday Times Style, and W Magazine, among others.
On May 31, 2020, Sprouse was arrested after he joined the protests in Los Angeles for racial justice after the death of George Floyd.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1999Big DaddyJulian McGrath
1999The Astronaut's WifeTwin
2001Diary of a Sex AddictSammy Jr.Direct-to-video film
2001I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa ClausJustin Carver
2002The Master of DisguiseYoung Pistachio Disguisey
2002Eight Crazy NightsKB Toys soldierVoice
2003Apple JackJack PyneShort film
2003Just for KicksCole MartinDirect-to-video film
2004The Heart Is Deceitful Above All ThingsOlder Jeremiah
2006'KidVoice; direct-to-video film
2007'Eddie Tudor
2008The Kings of AppletownClayton
2010Kung Fu MagooBrad LandryDirect-to-video film
2019Five Feet ApartWill Newman

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993–1998Grace Under FirePatrick KellyMain role
1998Mad TVKidGuest role; 2 episodes
2000–2002FriendsBen GellerRecurring role; 7 episodes
2001The Nightmare RoomBuddyEpisode: "Scareful What You Wish For"
2001That '70s ShowBillyEpisode: "Eric's Depression"
2005–2008The Suite Life of Zack & CodyCody MartinMain role
2006The Emperor's New SchoolZimVoice; episode: "Oops, All Doodles/Chipmunky Business"
2006That's So RavenCody MartinEpisode: "Checkin' Out"
2008According to JimHimselfEpisode: "I Drink Your Milkshake"
2008–2011The Suite Life on DeckCody MartinMain role
2009Wizards of Waverly PlaceCody MartinEpisode: "Cast-Away "
2009Hannah MontanaCody MartinEpisode: "Super Girl"
2010I'm in the BandCody MartinEpisode: "Weasels on Deck"
2011The Suite Life MovieCody MartinTelevision film
2012So Random!HimselfEpisode: "Cole and Dylan Sprouse"
2017–presentRiverdaleJughead JonesMain role
2020BorrascaSam WalkerPodcast

Awards and nominations

Discography