Cole Sprouse Says Childhood Fame Is 'Trauma' — But He Can't 'Compare' His Journey to Young Women

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Cole Sprouse is sharing some harsh truths about what child stars endure.

In a New York Times profile, the 29-year-old Riverdale star opened up about the "trauma" that comes from working in the entertainment industry at a young age.

"My brother [Dylan] and I used to get quite a bit of, 'Oh, you made it out! Oh, you're unscathed!' No. The young women on the channel we were on [Disney Channel] were so heavily sexualized from such an earlier age than my brother and I that there's absolutely no way that we could compare our experiences," he said. "And every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience."

"When we talk about child stars going nuts, what we're not actually talking about is how fame is a trauma," he continued. "So I'm violently defensive against people who mock some of the young women who were on the channel when I was younger because I don't feel like it adequately comprehends the humanity of that experience and what it takes to recover. And, to be quite honest, as I have now gone through a second big round of this fame game as an adult, I've noticed the same psychological effects that fame yields upon a group of young adults as I did when I was a child."

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Additionally, the Moonshot star suggested that "people have an easier time hiding it when they're older."

Sprouse got his start acting alongside his twin brother as an infant. Together, the pair appeared in commercials before landing the dual role of Patrick Kelly on ABC's Grace Under Fire at 8 months old. They then nabbed another dual role opposite Adam Sandler in Big Daddy, but Sprouse was later cast separately to play David Schwimmer's son Ben on Friends.

They eventually became household names after scoring their own Disney Channel series, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. After its three-season run, the popular series transitioned into The Suite Life on Deck spinoff.

Disney Channel / courtesy Everett Collection

The famous siblings took time off from acting to attend New York University, though Sprouse eventually returned to the business with his role as Jughead Jones on Riverdale.

The two stars are turning 30 in August. During Sprouse's conversation with The New York Times, he said he "definitely" feels as if he's starting a new chapter upon entering his third decade of life. ​

​"I feel like my ducks are in a row better than they've ever been," he said. "We're also seeing the conclusion of a program I've spent the majority of my 20s on, so there is this world of possibilities that lies before me at the end of this production that I find incredibly appealing and intoxicating."

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Added Sprouse, "And, I hate to break it to everybody, but I'm not the only 30 year old playing a teen on television."

This isn't the first time Sprouse has opened up about the negative aspects of being a child star. Previously speaking to W, Sprouse said he chose to take a break from acting because he needed a "detox."

"This is going to sound a bit strange, but you develop a moral sickness when you're in front of a camera for a long time," he said in 2019. "The act of performance is an incredible experience, and it's really nice. But the part of the industry that's fascinated with celebrity and idolatry and ... the publicity and all that can be dangerously validating, especially for young men, and so I found myself needing to detox from a lot of that."