The identical twin of fellow actor Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse was born in Arezzo, Italy, on August 4, 1992. Named after poet Dylan Thomas, he is older by 15 minutes. He and his brother began acting at six months, upon the suggestion of their grandmother. Like most identical twin actors, they often played the same roles, allowing more time for their character to be filmed: from a toilet paper commercial, they moved on to the comedy Grace Under Fire in 1993, and got their big break in 1999, when they played the role of five-year-old Julian in the Adam Sandler comedy Big Daddy.
The twins also appeared in other films such as The Astronaut’s Wife, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, The Master of Disguise, Apple Jacks, Just for Kicks and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. They also guest starred in television shows such as The Nightmare Room and That ‘70s Show. They also collaborated further with Adam Sandler, providing their voices to his 2002 animated film Eight Crazy Nights.
In 2006, the Sprouse brothers were cast as the leads in the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. He plays the role of Zack Martin, the outgoing and lazy of the twins. Despite being a straight-D student in school, he excels in wood work, and has an obsession with girls, characterized in the first season when he had a crush on Maddie (Ashley Tisdale). The show’s success made the two teen sensations, and led to appearances in other Disney Channel shows such as That’s So Raven and the Disney Channel Games. They are also set to star in a spin-off series, The Suite Life on Deck.
The twins have also entered their own business, after having signed a licensing deal to create the brand Sprouse Bros., which creates clothing, sports gear and hygiene products targeted toward preteens and teens, among others. The brand is also behind a series of spy books, the first of which was released in 2007.