Cole Sprouse has been acting since he was 8 months old and starred with twin brother Dylan in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Now the 26-year-old is winning new fans as Jughead in Riverdale and hits the big screen this week as a terminally ill teen in tearjerker Five Feet Apart (out now). Watch the trailer below.
What made you want to take
on this role?
It was [director] Justin Baldoni and the nature of cystic fibrosis – an illness that is not in the public eye as much as it
should be. [Co-star] Haley [Lu Richardson] and I did extensive research on how to embody these characters.
What do you enjoy about exploring a love story?
I’m a huge fan of romances.
I grew up reading Japanese romance manga, which at the time was for young girls, but
I made it my own. I’ve always
had a fondness for the genre, and we wanted this movie to
feel like a beacon of hope.
Do fans know you as Cole yet
or more by the names of
your characters?
It’s been Jughead and Cody, and even Dylan and Ben! I don’t think about that much; everybody’s experience with you relates to what resonates most. I’ve been lucky enough to have roles and been part of successful projects, and people see you and go, “Hey, man, you made my childhood.” Or, “I really love you in this.” That’s the nature of a long acting career – you’re sort of used to being called a lot of different things.
Are you becoming Zen about being famous?
I think more Zen. Celebrity has changed a lot since the rise of social media. When my brother and I were doing The Suite Life, there was really no social media presence until, I think, the second-to-last year, which was really the rise of Twitter. And then I didn’t have a Twitter until sometime deep into college, so
I kept it kind of distanced from
a lot of that stuff. Even now my social media is either a showcase for my photography or just sort of a joke toilet.
Where do you think Jughead will be in 10 years?
Still in high school!
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