Cole Sprouse has claimed that Hollywood “encourages the worst qualities” in actors.
The Riverdale star made his screen debut in commercials as a baby, before starring in the sitcom Grace Under Fire alongside his twin brother Dylan when they were both toddlers.
Appearing on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Sprouse opened up about his youth spent as a child star and said that many young actors got into the industry to “put food on the table”.
“I think the pressure of my upbringing really compelled me to keep doing what I am today,” he told host Steven Bartlett.
“I cannot live without the arts… without performance or expression of some kind, because truly it’s all I know and have known since I was eight months old.”
Sprouse said that he “loved being on stage” growing up, but added that he “didn’t like the s*** that came with it”.
“This industry, in very many ways, it encourages the worst qualities of you as a person,” Sprouse said. “Narcissism, selfishness, greed – a lot of these things that we have come to know as practically cardinal sins.”
Last week, Sprouse appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast, where he claimed that his brother Dylan was a “huge bully” at school.
As children, the brothers were balancing time in school with their acting careers, having risen to fame on the Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack & Cody from 2005 to 2008.
Sprouse said that the pair were “f***ing d***s” during their school years, adding: “Dylan specifically was a huge bully.”
Asked how Dylan would bully people, Cole answered: “He would beat them up! And then I became known as the twin that would come up and be like, ‘I’m so sorry for my brother.’”
When presenter Alex Cooper asked if Dylan would be annoyed with his brother revealing this information about his childhood, Cole responded: “Oh no, everyone knows that he was a bully.”
