Dylan Sprouse Says Growing Up as a Disney Kid Was “Child Labor”
by Chrissy Stockton · Thought CatalogUpdated 4 minutes ago, September 2, 2026
Dylan Sprouse acted steadily from the age of 8 to 17, and he says that stretch left him with a “workaholic attitude” and a self-esteem tied “integrally to my ability to work and be on set.”
The 34-year-old made the comparison on the Sept. 1 episode of his podcast Wildmen, which he co-hosts with writer and director Brendan Columbus. He was setting up a conversation with guest Mark Indelicato, the Ugly Betty alum he’s known since he was about 12 or 13.
“When you work a career at that age, some kids used to work in coal mines and guard the minecart door when they were 15; we just sang and danced,” Sprouse said with a laugh. He described the work as a day job with the same rhythm as any office one: “You go in, you clock in, you clock out, you have a cubicle.”
He and his twin brother Cole were the leads on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, going through childhood fame at the same time. “I was lucky enough to have an identical twin who experienced the same exact thing,” he said, adding that Cole and Indelicato were people he was “thankful to have” to relate to.
Sprouse said he still carries “some mental hurdles as an adult acting now in the same industry,” and wonders if he’s always “chasing” acting like a child in his roles. He’s expecting his first child, a girl, with wife Barbara Palvin any day now.
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