Cole Sprouse

Cole Sprouse as Cody Martin

Named after the jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole, Cole Mitchell Sprouse was born 15 minutes after his twin brother, Dylan Thomas, on August 4, 1992 in Arezzo, Italy to American parents Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright. Four months after his birth, the family moved to the United States, where he was raised in Long Beach, California. In 1997, his parents divorced.

Sprouse's grandmother, drama teacher and actress Jonine Booth Wright convinced his parents to immerse him and his brother in acting at an early age. The twins' first television appearance was in a commercial for toilet paper, and in 1993, the twins shared their first television role, Patrick Kelly in the series Grace Under Fire. In 1999, they again shared a role for their first film appearance in Big Daddy. Their other appearances include I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and Just for Kicks.

In 2005, the Sprouse brothers launched their first ever Disney series, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, where Dylan played Zack and Cole played Cody. This led them to various other projects with Disney Channel, including their participation with the Disney Channel Games from 2006 to 2008, and a spin-off of their breakout program, The Suite Life on Deck.

Aside from acting, Cole Sprouse and his brother, Dylan have been working on entrepreneurial projects with companies such as Dualstar Entertainment, Leisure Publishing LLC and Simon & Schuster Inc. The twins created a brand named Sprouse Bros., and are in the process of promoting their products to their respective target consumers.

Media Village talked to the Sprouse brothers about their future plans and Cole Sprouse said, "We've been working on a deal with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. We're going to make a clothing line and videos and follow in their footsteps. That's cool and big!"

As for the success of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Sprouse added, “I think it got to where it was because it appeals to all ages, as in 6 year olds, preteens, tweens, teens and a whole bunch of other people. And there are a lot of characters that people learn to love in it. You basically [watch] these characters grow and see what happens to them as time goes on.”