Cole Sprouse's Mom Melanie Wright Reportedly Sent Him into Acting

Cole Sprouse's and Dylan Sprouse's mom inspired the latter's inaugural comic book, "Sun Eater." She conceived the Sprouse twins in Europe before heading back to the States. Listen to the linked audio clip that reveals Cole Sprouse's mother reportedly got him acting when he was eight months old.

Cole Sprouse is one-half of the famous twin actors who starred in Disney's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." He was born in Tuscany, Italy, on August 4, 1992, just 15 minutes after his brother Dylan Sprouse. Cole's parents, Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright, taught English in Italy when they were born.

Four months after their birth, the twins relocated to Southern California with their parents. On the west coast of the United States, they discovered their talents thanks to the encouragement they got from their grandmother, an actress who taught drama. Their gift was so natural that they landed their first-ever commercial audition.

Cole Sprouse at Variety's Power Of Young Hollywood event hosted at The H Club in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles on August 6, 2019. | Source: Getty Images

Cole's Mom Reportedly Led Him into Acting with His Brother

Cole was famed as a child star on various projects alongside his brother in several of those. It was later discovered via an audio clip Cole published on Tumblr after disappearing from Hollywood that he was thrown into acting by his mother, Melanie—similar to Natasha Lyonne's entrance into acting.

Melanie turned her children into actors because they needed more money to sustain their family. Cole admitted, "I never made the decision to join the arts or acting specifically. And so it was never really my passion." He added that there was probably no chance of him becoming an actor without the push from his mother early on.

An interesting fact about the twins' entry into Hollywood is that their identical appearance got them to rotate the portrayal of the same character. This was down to the American film industry's policy of how many hours a child could film on set.

Dylan and Cole Sprouse at Nickelodeon's 20th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, hosted at Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, California, on March 31, 2007. | Source: Getty Images

There are a couple of projects where we can see Cole and Dylan having turns playing the same character due to the Hollywood quota. One of them is the comedy-drama led by Adam Sandler, "Big Daddy," where they both portrayed former "SNL" star Adam Sandler's adoptive son Julian "Frankenstein" McGrath.

A recurring aspect in Melanie's throwback posts is using the caption to help viewers identify who's who in the photos—presumably necessary, considering their indistinguishable appearance.

Another project where we see Cole and Dylan doing the undetected switcheroo is the hit 90s and 2000s TV series "Friends," where they took turns being the son of Dr. Ross Geller—a character portrayed by Zoë Buckman's husband, David Schwimmer.

[Right to Left] Jay Leno, Dylan, and Cole Sprouse on episode 151460 of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," on June 18, 1999. | Source: Getty Images

Cole's Brother Dylan Has a Comic Book with a Personal Meaning

The twins' arguably successful run on the Disney network was followed by their branching out to different careers. Cole branched out to discover more about his genuine interest in archaeology and photography. His brother Dylan focused on developing as a writer, producing a personal yet compellingly layered comic series, "Sun Eater."

Dylan spoke to ET Online's Liz Calvario about the meaning behind his DIGA studios and Heavy Metal Magazine-supported book. He revealed that he began writing the fantasy story five years before its release and that his intentions shifted from writing for live-action to writing for animation.

Dylan told ET that the main character of "Sun Eater," Kvedulf—a ninth-century Norwegian warrior addicted to drugs—was heavily inspired by his mother "in a lot of ways." He chose not to reveal too much about his family life and assured that fans would find more of the comic book's meaning in its content.

Dylan explained in a now-deleted Instagram video the significance between the book and his personal life, to which he received many positive responses from fans who related. "And I found that really, really nice," he said about the positive response. Then expanding on the reception he was hoped for, Dylan added:

"What I hope for 'Sun Eater,' in general, is that not only is it a story that's interesting and entertaining to people who like this kind of genre, but also that it's a little bit of a cautionary tale, and it empathizes with people who were raised in similar situations, and that it creates a dialogue between all of us."

Dylan revealed without a smidge of apprehension in his tone that his mother was not privy to the writings of his comic before its release. He said, "I've shared it with my brother and father, definitely. Not my mother, no." Dylan confirmed that his twin and father were informed about and involved in the book's development.

Dylan Sprouse at the "SUPER NINTENDO WORLD" welcome celebration held at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California, on February 15, 2023. | Source: Getty Images

Their Mom Shares a Lot of Her Twins' Throwback Pictures

The twins' mother goes by @melaniewrightsprou on Instagram and uses the social website to share throwback photos of her famous sons. One of her most recent throwback posts was of Cole eating hamburgers. In the picture, we see the twin dressed in a red-and-white Adidas jacket while showing off a piece of his meal to the camera.

In April 2021, she shared another picture of Cole, holding him up before a diner table—seemingly in great spirits. A few days later, Melanie shared a photo of herself with the twins at a backyard party in Woodlands Hills. Then on the same day, she posted a photo of herself with Matthew and the twins in a blowup pool.

A recurring aspect in Melanie's throwback posts is using the caption to help viewers identify who's who in the photos—presumably necessary, considering their indistinguishable appearance. She did the same in September 2020, writing "Cole on left Dylan on rt," [sic] in the caption under a photo of herself with the boys.

Cole has returned to acting, starring as Jughead in the hit TV series "Riverdale" across Lili Reinhart. Cole and Lili held back on revealing their union until they covered a 2019 W Magazine edition and confirmed they were together after rumors of their unconfirmed relationship's end surfaced.

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