Dylan and Cole Sprouse understand that sometimes it takes two. The charming identical twin boys that captivated our hearts over 25 years ago with their lively performance as the precocious little child on Big Daddy with Adam Sandler are no longer young. Neither are they boys. Dylan and his 15-minute younger brother Cole are no longer as close as they were at the beginning of their careers, but they are still very close.
The lovely blond brothers, born in 1992, were only 8 months old when they began sharing parts as a toddler or youngster in commercials, television, and cinema. As Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen of Full House demonstrate, identical twins are a valuable resource in Hollywood due to child labor rules that prohibit youngsters from working excessively long hours.
And for the tiny Sprouses, two was better than one. Their breakthrough role was in the TV comedy series Grace Under Fire, where they played the son of Brett Butler’s lead character Grace Kelly, from 1993 until 1998. Growing from infants to talking and walking six-year-olds, the twins were exceptional in their roles as Patrick Kelly. “As Grace’s 8-month-old, it’s impossible to tell at this point if Dylan and Cole Sprouse are the Olsen twins of tomorrow,” according to Variety’s Tim Grey.
When they played Sandler’s adoptive son in the comedy picture Big Daddy (1999), they dominated every scene with their perfectly placed remarks and hilarious performances. Cole spoke with People in 2022 about Sandler and stated, “Perhaps I’m a little biased because I’ve known him for a long time, but I do like his profession. He strikes a really, really good balance between art and commerce, which I believe is the currency of a true working actor.”
He went on: “He’s walking that line beautifully and he’s raising up all of his friends at the same time, which I think is incredible.” Cole and Dylan’s power couple was broken from 2000 to 2002 when Cole appeared on the popular television show Friends. Cole played Ben, the young son of Ross Gellar, who is played by David Schwimmer. This was the first time Cole acted a role without Dylan.
Cole recalls his favorite Friends episode, “The One with the Holiday Armadillo,” saying, “I remember that quite well.” I was fascinated by the clothes and the practical effects.”He also admitted that the outfits were not his main obsession. He also had a huge crush on his co-star, Rachel. In an interview with TODAY, Cole stated, “I’m fairly sure I fell in love with Jennifer Aniston, which the entire world did at the time. However, as a result, I recall feeling quite intimidated around her. I recall forgetting my lines and suffering stage fright when she sat next to me on the couch in one episode.”
