Dylan Sprouse is opening up about the less glamorous side of growing up as a child star, saying his early years in Hollywood felt less like childhood and more like having a full-time job.
The 34-year-old actor made the comments during the Sept. 1 episode of the Wildmen podcast, which he co-hosts with writer-director Brendan Columbus. The discussion also featured fellow former child actor Mark Indelicato, best known for his role in Ugly Betty.
Sprouse, who became internationally known alongside his twin brother Cole through Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, described working in television as a demanding routine that involved essentially clocking in and out like an adult employee.
He jokingly compared child actors with young workers from history, saying that while some children once worked in coal mines, he and other young performers were singing and dancing on television.
The comparison was clearly intended as a reflection on the demands placed on children in entertainment, rather than a claim that child actors faced the same physical conditions as historical mine workers.
“It’s a full office job”
Sprouse explained that working in television from childhood into his teenage years created a strong work-oriented mindset.
He said television production felt like a conventional day job: arriving on set, working scheduled hours and eventually going home.
But the consequences became more complicated when the work stopped.
According to Sprouse, the end of productions could leave him feeling a “void,” because his sense of self-worth had become closely connected to his ability to work and be on set.
That experience, he said, has continued to influence him as an adult actor.
He described still having “mental hurdles” related to working in the same industry in which he grew up.
From diapers to Disney stardom
Dylan and Cole Sprouse began acting as infants, sharing roles in projects including the television series Grace Under Fire.
They later appeared together in the 1999 film Big Daddy before becoming household names as Zack and Cody Martin on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, which premiered in 2005.
The original series ran until 2008, followed by The Suite Life on Deck, which ran from 2008 to 2011.
That meant the twins spent much of their formative years working in front of cameras.
For Dylan, the experience was not simply about fame and success.
He now believes growing up in the entertainment business helped create a “workaholic attitude” that he has had to confront as an adult.
Another former child star says he understands
Mark Indelicato, who joined Sprouse for the discussion, also described the unusual pressures of growing up in the entertainment industry.
Indelicato said people outside the industry may struggle to understand the experiences shared by former child actors.
The two discussed how anxiety can emerge when there is no creative work to focus on, and why maintaining relationships with people who went through similar experiences can be important.
For Sprouse, having an identical twin who experienced much of the same childhood career was particularly valuable.
He said he felt fortunate that Cole understood what it was like because they experienced the demands of the industry together.
His comments are part of a bigger debate
Sprouse’s remarks have reignited discussion about the pressures placed on child performers and whether financial success and fame can come at a psychological cost.
His comments should not be interpreted as saying that his entire childhood was negative. Instead, he was reflecting on how working from such a young age shaped his relationship with employment, creativity and self-esteem.
The actor has previously spoken about the complicated relationship child stars can have with the entertainment industry, including concerns about young performers having limited control over their careers.
Today, both Sprouse brothers remain involved in entertainment, although their careers have taken different paths. Dylan returned to acting after attending New York University, while Cole later became widely known for his role as Jughead Jones on Riverdale.
Dylan is also preparing for another major change in his personal life: he and wife Barbara Palvin announced in May 2026 that they are expecting their first child.
For a former child star about to become a parent himself, his reflections on growing up in Hollywood carry an especially interesting dimension.
After becoming famous as a child, Dylan Sprouse says the experience shaped his self-esteem in ways he is still dealing with today — raising a bigger question about what the entertainment industry asks of children before they are old enough to fully understand the price of fame.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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