Dylan and Cole Sprouse know that sometimes it takes two.
The adorable identical twin boys who captured our hearts almost 25 years ago with their playful performance as the precocious little boy in Big Daddy with Adam Sandler are no longer little — and no longer boys.
Now handsome 30‑year‑old men, Dylan and his younger brother by 15 minutes, Cole, aren’t as inseparable as they were at the start of their careers, but they remain very close.
Born in 1992, the blond twins were only eight months old when they began sharing roles as one toddler or child in commercials, TV, and film.
With Mary‑Kate and Ashley Olsen — of Full House fame — proving the point, identical twins are a major asset in Hollywood due to child labor laws that limit how long children can work.
And for the young Sprouses, two really were better than one.
Their breakout role came in the TV comedy series Grace Under Fire, where from 1993 to 1998 they played the son of Brett Butler’s character, Grace Kelly. Growing from infants into talking, walking six‑year‑olds, the twins were remarkable in sharing the role of Patrick Kelly.
“As Grace’s 8‑month‑old, it’s impossible to tell at this point if Dylan and Cole Sprouse are the Olsen twins of tomorrow,” wrote Tim Grey in Variety.
When they starred as Sandler’s adopted son in the 1999 comedy Big Daddy, they stole every scene with their perfectly timed lines and playful charm.
Speaking with People in 2022 about Sandler, Cole said, “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.” Cole 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.”
From 2000 to 2002, the power pairing of Cole and Dylan briefly split when Cole appeared solo on the hit TV series Friends. Playing Ben, the young son of Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Cole performed the role on his own — his first part without Dylan.
Speaking about his favorite Friends episode, “The One with the Holiday Armadillo,” Cole said, “I remember that quite well. I was infatuated with the costumes and the practical effects they had.”
He also admitted the costumes weren’t his only infatuation — he had a big crush on his co‑star who played Rachel. In an interview with TODAY, Cole 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.”
In 2002, Cole and Dylan reunited, once again sharing a role — this time as young Pistachio Disguisey in Master of Disguise.
By then, the boys were developing distinct personalities, which would eventually shape their individual careers.
That shift continued when they played Zack and Cody in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, an Emmy‑nominated Disney series that ran for three seasons starting in 2005. When the show ended, their characters crossed into other Disney projects, including Hannah Montana with Miley Cyrus and their own film, The Suite Life Movie.
As teenage heartthrobs, their popularity soared, but staying grounded, the young men moved on to the next chapter: New York University. Dylan studied video game design, while Cole pursued 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 in a more objective point of view. And now I think I can enjoy [acting], which is a really fundamental part about being an actor,” Cole said, explaining that the long‑running Disney series had made him feel like a machine. “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.”
Both graduated in 2015, and Cole returned to television, again acting independently of his brother.
Their distinct personalities continue to guide them on separate paths, and as adults, they no longer share roles.
Since 2017, Cole has starred as Jughead Jones in Riverdale, a supernatural drama based on the Archie Comics characters.
He is currently dating French‑Canadian model Ari Fournier, whom he met more than two years ago.
Dylan, meanwhile, voices video game characters and is engaged to Sports Illustrated model Barbara Palvin. He is also the co‑founder of All‑Wise Meadery, a craft brewery in Brooklyn, NY.
Speaking with Us Weekly in 2020, Dylan said, “It’s more likely that I will write something for us to work in together, rather than someone 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.”
It’s hard to believe so many years have passed since we first saw the adorable Sprouse twins in Big Daddy. They’ve accomplished incredible things both in and out of Hollywood, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
