Cole Sprouse on Finding a Healthy Balance in Hollywood


“I hope you don’t mind, I’ll knit this chicken wrap as soon as we talk,” Cole Sprouse informs me politely as he sits in the kitchen in a fluffy, baby-blue sweater. The wrap in question was already halfway up his mouth.

Sprouse is used for multitasking.

He and his twin brother, Dylan, began their professional acting careers as infants and worked steadily throughout their childhood, sharing major roles in “Grace Under Fire” and Adam Sandler.Big Daddy.” Cole went on to play Ross’ son on “Friends,” before reuniting with Dylan in the Disney Channel sitcom.The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (Cole played the clever Cody). The intermediate hit led to a side series, TV movie, and mega child stardom for the twins. By the age of 18, they had effectively burned out.

But after graduating from New York University with a degree in archeology, Cole Sprouse once again fulfilled his promise to his manager for TV auditions before leaving the industry entirely. He landed the role of thoughtless outcast Jughead Jones in the CW drama.Riverdale” and reabsorbed.

“I started acting when I was so young that, as an adult, I didn’t try to think about whether I was really enjoying the performance,” Sprouse said in a recent video call from Vancouver, British Columbia, where he is currently shooting his seventh film. “Riverdale” season. “When I returned, I reminded myself that I loved the art of acting. But I still have a very complicated relationship with celebrity culture.”

He has learned to protect his private life. Rare public comments about her past (ie with “Riverdale” star Lili Reinhart) and present (model Ari Fournier) are scrutinized by fans and garner widespread attention. told by entertainment venues. Secondary started Instagram The account is only dedicated to sharing photos taken by strangers trying to take photos secretly. “It was an attempt to say, ‘Hey, I actually have an agent in this situation’.” he explained. “It helped me a lot.”

His most recent role is the lead actor in the HBO Max rom-com “Moonshot” – not to be confused with unrelated 2022 versions “Moon Knight” and “Moonfall.” In a near future where robots run cafes and Mars is colonized, Sprouse plays Walt, a hapless college student who boards a Mars-bound rocket alongside Sophie (Lana Condor) to reach another girl on Mars. He thinks he might be one.

Sprouse, who intermittently blows into a vape pen after he’s finished wrapping the chicken, talked about billionaires, childhood fame, and the implications of turning 30.

These are edited excerpts from our talk.

“Moonshot” is a futuristic take on a traditional romantic comedy. Are you a rom-com fan?

I have favorites and they are all over the map. I’m huge “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” like a fan. And while there’s an intensely romantic element in it, most people would just call it a comedy – and yet, within all genre boundaries, it’s a rom-com.

I think for too long romantic comedies have been aired as “chick flicks”, something unassuming that only female audiences care. Male-centric entries like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” have made some people rethink the concept.

The general trend towards art always starts with a big female fanbase really falling in love with something. In many cases, we see female viewers first encouraging the area and then everyone following. Ultimately, we set out with “Moonshot” to make a movie that didn’t really take itself too seriously, where we were very jolly, and we were able to weave an old married couple dynamic into our relationship with Lana. .

The movie also packs some solid punches into the billionaire space race: Zach Braff’s Elon Musk-esque character admits he could use his wealth to solve world hunger dozens of times, but instead went to Mars. What do you think of the current space cowboy efforts of people like Musk and Jeff Bezos?

Oh, I think that’s a great masturbation. This is ridiculous. When I was studying archeology, we used to have this talk about the resurrection of the mammoth. The conversation always turned into two camps: the camp that really wanted to see the mammoth roam the world again. And the camp that went on said, “Hey, we have active species that are currently endangered. If we put the resources you’re talking about into the extinct mammoth and shift that focus to the present, we can do a lot better.” I feel like this conversation about space cowboys is very similar. I’m at the camp I went to. Let’s focus on the present. We have an active space in which we live and is currently decaying. We need to shift focus and resources there.

Therefore, there is no chance of getting a commercial ticket for a rocket anytime soon.

No, I’m already a paranoid freak when it comes to flying. I couldn’t imagine what my control freak nature would do when we started taking off. I would have a nervous breakdown.

People love to talk about ex-child stars in this dilemma of either getting out of control or somehow “okay it turned out”. Do you think it’s possible for anyone to go through this experience unscathed?

My brother and I used to have a lot of “Oh, you did it! Oh, you are unscathed!” No. Young women on our channel [Disney Channel] From a much earlier age my brother and I were so intensely sexualized that we have absolutely no way of comparing our experiences. And every person who goes through this trauma has a unique experience. When we talk about child stars going crazy, what we don’t really talk about is the trauma of fame. That’s why I’m vehemently defensive against people who make fun of some of the young women who were on the channel when they were younger, because I don’t feel like this experience adequately grasps the humanity and what it takes to heal. And to be honest, as I went through the second big round of this fame game as an adult, I realized the same psychological effects that fame had on a group of young adults as I did as a kid. . I think people hide it more easily when they’re older.

After it was announced that “Riverdale” is being renewed for a seventh season, many TV series Humor He appeared imagining your reaction when you heard the news. The general internet consensus seemed to be that you were completely miserable because you had to make another season. Is this true?

[Laughs] Not entirely correct. One, because I just assumed we’d see the end of our business. [seven-season] contracts. Second, I think the internet – because of how crazy our show is – is probably assuming we’re in a bit worse shape than we really are. It’s easy to forget that people love the show. And I think in 10 years it will be much more appreciated than it is now. It would be too pompous for me to say that another season of financial stability will not be attractive. I won’t lie though. Memes make me laugh.

You have established a side career professionally photographerin fact fashion. What is it about this psychic that makes you want to follow him?

When I was in school I traveled a lot for archeology, so I always had a camera and took pictures of the people I met, the culture around me, almost anthropological type. And then, just being in New York, I clung to the fashion business and created a portfolio. That was my main source of income until “Riverdale” Season 2.

You turn 30 in August. Does this decade feel like the beginning of a new chapter?

Definitely. I feel like my ducks are in better order than ever before. We’re also seeing the end of a show where I spent most of my 20s, so at the end of this production that I find incredibly compelling and intoxicating, I have a world of possibilities before me. And I hate to tell everyone this, but I’m not the only 30-year-old who plays young on TV.

You went to college on “Moonshot.” You are starting to age.

I’m slowly but surely advancing them. In an ideal world, I’d love to shoot a movie or two a year when “Riverdale” is finished, and take pictures the rest of the time. And the logical intersection of these two worlds will eventually give direction.

We live in an extremely nostalgic time for the 90s and 2000s. Any chance of going full cycle and restarting a “Suite Life”?

I don’t think I will ever go back to this. Not that I have a problem with other people doing the reboot thing. I’m just one of those people who believe that you have to let something that was good in the past stay beautiful. Taking it into the future feels like reheating a really good, fresh meal in the microwave. It would be hard to be in my 30s and go [in a deep growl]”Zack and Cody are back man!”





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