The Sprouses were born in Arezzo, Italy. Their parents are Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright. Their parents are American, but they were teaching at an English language school in Tuscany when Dylan and Cole were born. Dylan is named after the poet Dylan Thomas. Dylan is 15 minutes older than Cole. Cole is named after jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole. The boys moved back to the United States four months after their birth. They grew up in Long Beach, California, where their parents had lived. Their parents divorced in 1997.
The Sprouses started acting at the age of eight months. The twins first acted in a commercial for diapers. They switched on-screen time every few seconds. Similar to many twin actors, the two have often played the same role. This is so there is more time for the character to be filmed. Starting at eight months old, they acted on the ABC-TV series "Grace Under Fire" from 1993 to 1998. They played one character, Patrick Kelly.
In 1999, the boys acted in their first major movie, "Big Daddy". They shared the role of a five-year old boy named 'Julian' who is adopted by Adam Sandler's character, 'Sonny Koufax'. That year, the boys worked with Sandler to make the second and third versions of "The Chanukah Song". The boys also had a small role in the scary movie "The Astronaut's Wife". After "Big Daddy"'s release, the two started a slow period in their careers. They were not cast in any big roles for a time. During the early 2000s, the twins acted in episodes of "The Nightmare Room" and "That '70s Show". They also acted in "MADtv" (season four, episode #425) and the movie "The Master of Disguise." They also had a voice-over role in "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights". In 2001, Cole started acting in episodes of the television show "Friends" as Ross Geller's son Ben. He did not share this role with Dylan.
Between the years of 2002 and 2003, they both acted in "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and "Just for Kicks". Both movies were released direct-to-video. After that, the Sprouses started acting in the Disney Channel original series "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody", where they portrayed identical twins Zack (Dylan) and Cody (Cole) Martin. The series started in March 2005. It became a ratings success. The twins have become very well known among pre-teen (9 to 12 year old) and teen audiences. As part of their work with Disney, the brothers also became part of the 11-member group, the Disney Channel Circle of Stars. They sang the song "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" with the members of the group. The music video was released as a special feature in the special edition version of the Disney movie "Cinderella". They also played in the Disney Channel Games from 2006 to 2008.
The Sprouses played one character, Jeremiah, in the independent movie "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things". The movie was produced in 2004. It was not shown in theaters until March 2006. Then it played at three theaters in the United States. It earned $29,000. In 2007, the boys filmed "". The Sprouse brothers both had voice roles in the animated movie, "Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen" along with Brenda Song and Emily Osment. Dylan played the voice of Shasta in Disney's "Snow Buddies." The brothers both acted in the movie, "The Kings of Appletown". It is based on the book "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". Bobby Moresco directed the movie. Amanda Moresco wrote it. The movie was filmed in New Braunfels, Texas. It was originally estimated to be released in the winter 2008.
In April 2009, they were on the cover of "People Magazine", in an eighty-page special edition issue about "The Suite Life on Deck". The twin brothers began filming another Modern Twain Story movie in the summer of 2009. The movie was titled "Sivilized". It was a modern version of "Huckleberry Finn". However, in the middle of 2010, Dylan said that they would not be doing the movie. Part of the reason they did not do it was because they became too old for the movie. In March 2009, they started advertising for Dannon Danimals. In August 2010, the twin brothers started making advertisements for Nintendo DS.
, Dylan and Cole are not acting in any shows or movies. They are paying attention to college. Also, Dylan is paying attention to art. Cole is paying attention to photography. Dylan has said that they would both like to continue acting while in college.Cole's celebrity crush was always his brother Dylan Sprouse.
In 2005, the Sprouse brothers joined Dualstar Entertainment to produce "Sprouse Bros" products for preteens (9 to 12 year olds) and teenagers. The Sprouse Bros brand has a clothing line, a comics series, and a magazine. In 2006 Dualstar and Leisure Publishing LLC started a magazine called "Sprouse Bros. Code" for boys. In 2007 Simon & Schuster Inc. published the two volumes of a book series named "Sprouse Bros. 47 R.O.N.I.N.", about two young spies. In 2008, the brothers ended their association with Dualstar. They continued their clothing line which is 'on hold'. The things in their clothing lines are only sold online.
Dylan Sprouse has said that the experience of becoming famous after the success of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" is "kind of scary, how fast everything is moving. Just a year ago none of this was happening, it was just doing "Suite Life", and now I can't wait for what's in store..." While filming "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody", the two went to school on-set for three hours each day. They said they were getting "straight A's and honors."
The twins' family has three dogs. Bubba is Dylan and Cole’s dog. Pinky is their father's dog. Curry is their stepmother's dog. Their favorite actor and co-star is Adam Sandler.
In 2010, the twin brothers were both accepted to New York University. At first, they planned to go to the university in the fall of 2010. However, they delayed going for one year. They are both in the Gallatin program. Students in this program make their own major.
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Gregory Brandis (13 April 1976 - 12 November 2003) was an American actor, director and screenwriter. He was born in Danbury, Connecticut.
Beginning his career as a child model. His acting career was begun around 1982. Brandis made guest appearances in TV programs, including "The Wonder Years" and "Full House". He appeared in many movies. He appeared in the miniseries "It".
On November 12, 2003 the actor hanged himself and died in hospital.
Brandis dated Tatyana Ali from 1995 until 1998. She is an American R&B singer and actress.
TOEIC
The TOEIC is an examination for learners of English. It is mainly used in Japan, but is also important in some other countries. The test started in 1977. The full name of the exam is the "Test of English for International Communication". The Educational Testing Service (ETS) writes and gives the test.
The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is meant to measure English skills in everyday workplace activities.
The TOEIC Listening & Reading Test is a two-hour multiple-choice test. It has 200 questions. One hundred questions test listening comprehension, and the other 100 test reading comprehension. Test takers get separate scores for listening and reading on from 5 to 495 points. The total score adds up to from 10 to 990 points. The TOEIC certificate comes in five colors based on the scores:
ETS began to offer the TOEIC Speaking & Writing Test in 2006. Test takers get separate scores for each of the two tests. They can also take the Speaking test without taking the Writing test. The TOEIC Speaking Test takes about 20 minutes. The TOEIC Writing Test lasts about 60 minutes. Each test has a score between 0-200.