The brothers began acting at the age of eight months following a suggestion from their grandmother, Jonine Booth Wright, who was a drama teacher and actress. They first appeared in a commercial for diapers, switching on-screen time every few seconds. As with many twins, the two have often played the same role, due to child labor laws in California restricting the amount of time children can be filmed in a day. Casting twins in a single role thus allows more time for the character to be filmed. Beginning at eight months old, the two played a single character, Patrick Kelly, on the
ABC series
Grace Under Fire. In 1999, the boys appeared in their first major feature film,
Big Daddy, in which they shared the role of a five-year-old boy named Julian who is adopted by
Adam Sandler's character, Sonny Koufax. Though the film received mixed reviews, the two were nominated for multiple awards for their role in the film. However, they did not win any. The Sprouses have noted that after
Big Daddy's release, they entered a slow period in their careers and were not cast in any major roles for a time. Cole began appearing in episodes of the television show
Friends as
Ross Geller's son Ben in 2001; this role was not shared with Dylan. Dylan and Cole were later cast in the
Disney Channel original series
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, where they portrayed identical twins Zack and Cody Martin, respectively. They also participated in the
Disney Channel Games. at the 2010 White House Easter Egg roll The Sprouses played one character, Jeremiah, in the
independent film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. The film was produced in 2004 but not given a theatrical release until March 2006, when it played at three theatres in the United States, ultimately grossing $29,000 domestically. Harvey Karten praised their acting, stating that "acting is superlative all around", and Tamara Straus of the
San Francisco Chronicle called them "the movie's only saving grace". In 2007, the two filmed
A Modern Twain Story: The Prince and the Pauper. Carrie R. Wheadon of
Common Sense Media said the film was a "slow story for Zack and Cody fans only". The Sprouse brothers both had voice roles in the animated film ''Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen'' alongside
Brenda Song and
Emily Osment. Dylan played the voice of Shasta in Disney's "Snow Buddies". The brothers both starred in the theatrical film
The Kings of Appletown, which is based on the book
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The film was directed by
Bobby Moresco and written by Amanda Moresco. Shot in
New Braunfels, Texas, the film was originally estimated to be released in the winter of 2008.
Kings of Appletown had a limited theatrical release on December 12, 2009, and was officially released at the
Newport Beach Film Festival in April 2010. They appeared on the cover of the May 2009 issue
People Magazine, in an eighty-page special edition issue devoted to
The Suite Life on Deck. The twin brothers began filming another Modern Twain Story film in the summer of 2009. The film was tentatively titled "Sivilized" and was a modern version of
Huckleberry Finn. However, in mid-2010, Dylan stated that they would not be doing the film, in part because they "outgrew" the film. They became the new face of the children's yogurt,
Danimals, in 2009; their endorsement deal was renewed in 2010. The twin brothers signed an endorsement deal with
Nintendo DS in August 2010. , Dylan and Cole were not in any acting projects and were focusing instead on college as well as art and photography, respectively. However, Dylan has stated that they would both like to continue acting while in college. Dylan and Cole are represented by
William Morris Endeavor . In February 2016, Cole was cast as
Jughead Jones in
The CW's drama series
Riverdale, based on
Archie. ==Sprouse Bros brand==