You remember the blonde hair and the Tipton Hotel. Honestly, it’s hard not to. For a solid decade, it felt like Cole and Dylan Sprouse were the only kids on TV. They were the faces of a Disney era that defined "tween" culture, earning millions while most of us were still struggling with algebra. But then, they just... stopped.
The transition from child stardom to adulthood is usually a messy, tabloid-fueled car crash. We’ve seen it a hundred times. Yet, the Sprouse brothers managed to pull off the rarest feat in Hollywood: they disappeared on purpose, got an education, and came back as entirely different people.
The Myth of the "Zack and Cody" Reunion
People keep asking. Seriously, every interview they do, someone brings up a Suite Life reboot. But if you’re waiting for Zack and Cody to move back into a hotel in 2026, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
Cole has been pretty blunt about this. He told Drew Barrymore that reboots are "kitschy" and that he has absolutely no interest in retreating into the past. He’s 33 now. The idea of playing a caricature of his 15-year-old self isn't just unappealing; it's regressive.
Dylan feels the same, though he’s slightly more diplomatic. He’s mentioned that there aren’t many "good roles for twins" that don't rely on tired tropes. They don't want to be a gimmick anymore. They spent their entire childhood being "the twins." Now, they just want to be actors who happen to have the same DNA.
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Why They Really Left Disney
It wasn't just a "desire for college." There was some real friction behind the scenes. Around 2011, the brothers approached Disney with a pitch for a final season and a spinoff that would give them producer credits. They wanted more control over the brand they had built.
Disney said no.
Instead of staying in a system that didn't value their creative input, they walked. They went to NYU. Dylan studied video game design, and Cole went into archaeology. That sounds like a fake movie plot, right? A Disney star digging for artifacts in the desert? But Cole actually did it. He was working in a lab in Brooklyn, cataloging pottery shards for $10 an hour, while his face was still on lunchboxes in the Disney Store.
The Split Career Paths
Since 2017, their lives have looked radically different.
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- Cole Sprouse leaned into the "darker" side of things. His seven-season run as Jughead Jones on Riverdale basically erased the "Cody Martin" image for a new generation. He’s also become a legitimately respected photographer, shooting for Vogue and L'Uomo Vogue. It’s not just a hobby; it’s a career that gave him the autonomy he lacked as a kid.
- Dylan Sprouse took a weirder, more independent route. He didn't jump back into a TV series. Instead, he opened All-Wise Meadery in Brooklyn. He’s a mead-maker. He’s also starred in indie films and the After franchise, and more recently, the Beautiful Disaster movies. He married supermodel Barbara Palvin in 2023, and they’ve basically become the internet’s favorite "low-key" power couple.
What Most People Get Wrong About Their Wealth
There’s this weird assumption that because they were the highest-paid kids on TV, they must be billionaires. Reports usually pin their net worth at around $8 million each.
That’s a lot of money, obviously. But considering they’ve been working since they were eight months old (sharing the role of Patrick on Grace Under Fire), it’s not "private island" money. Cole has mentioned that acting was originally a way to keep his family's lights on. Their mother, who struggled with mental health and addiction, was the one who pushed them into the industry early.
They weren't "stage parents" in the fun way. They were the primary breadwinners before they could even talk. That context changes how you look at their current work. They aren't chasing fame because they need it; they're working because they finally have the power to choose their projects.
The Reality of Being a Twin in Hollywood
It’s kinda exhausting, isn't it? Even now, people talk about them as a single unit. But if you look at their 2026 trajectories, they couldn't be more different.
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Cole is still the brooding, artistic one, deeply involved in the fashion world and specific, character-driven roles like in Lisa Frankenstein. Dylan is the more entrepreneurial, laid-back one who seems perfectly happy making fermented honey wine and doing the occasional rom-com.
They’ve acknowledged the limitations. There’s a ceiling on what you can do when your "brand" is tied to another human being. By spending the last decade apart professionally, they’ve managed to build two distinct identities.
How to follow their current work:
- Check out Cole’s Photography: His professional portfolio isn't just "actor photos"—it's high-fashion editorial work. It gives you a much better sense of his actual personality than any TV role.
- Support Dylan’s Business: If you're over 21, All-Wise Meadery actually ships. It’s a rare example of a celebrity business that isn't just a white-labeled product; he’s actually involved in the production.
- Watch the "Solo" Films: If you only know them from Suite Life, watch Five Feet Apart (Cole) or The Duel (Dylan). It’s the best way to see how they've evolved as performers.