The Suite Life of Zack & Cody star Cole Sprouse says 'the choice never really existed' when his acting career began at just eight months old.
Somehow - the child star we all grew up watching is now 30-years-old - and nearly so am I.
The famous twin brother has been opening up about his long career in the film industry and how his mother sacrificed their childhood for both money and fame.
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On a recent episode of Steven Bartlett's The Diary of a CEO, Cole explained that despite never being pushed into acting, he 'unconsciously' did it to put food on the table.
"I would hardly call it pushing because I was eight months old," Cole stated.
"Single mom, two twin boys, put food on the table, so the choice never really existed."
The Riverdale actor says him mum was 'living vicariously through the success of her children'.
"A person that grapples with mental illness, drug abuse, but primarily narcissism," the twin added, "a wicked narcissism."
He says 'the legal system' found that the mother 'was unfit' to raise her children and 'the court had to step in'.
"I loved being on stage. I didn't like the sh*t that came with it," Cole added.
"This industry encourages the worst qualities of you... selfishness, greed. You know, authenticity and vulnerability are not really encouraged traits.
"You're given these lessons in your life so that you can triumph over them and use the traits that you've acquired from those lessons over time to carve out who you are.
"The proliferation of Social Media means you can’t cut your Teeth In silence anymore. Everyone sees your portfolio globally.
"And you're expected to put it on display.
"I feel quite afraid for young actors now who have to hone their craft over time, but to a global audience."
Previously chatting on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Cole said The Suite Life was a 'life-changing' show and benefited both himself and twin brother Dylan.
The 30-year-old said: "Funny enough, I get asked about Disney a lot because I think a lot of people want to sort of poke the bear and see, you know, how atrocious the channel was.
"By the time my brother and I got to the Disney Channel, we were good. It was a huge boon to us.
"It was in many ways, a life-saving show. It provided us with an amount of stability and consistency, and routine, that really was needed for my brother and I at the time."
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Cole Sprouse
Anish Vij