Dylan Sprouse reveals ridiculous residual payments he receives from Suite Life of Zack & Cody
The stars of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody couldn't rely on residual payments to bolster their retirement funds, Dylan Sprouse has claimed.
You might think that the actor and his twin brother Cole are still raking it in from the sitcom that they spent their childhood filming, but the 34-year-old insists that is not the case.
Sprouse revealed that the only residual cheque he ever received for starring in the hit series was not worth the paper that it was printed on - as it was for a measly five cents.
Despite being some of the most memorable child actors to join the Disney Channel fold, the Sprouse twins haven't reaped the benefits of their popularity with residual payments.
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The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ran for three seasons between March 2005 and September 2008, but the episodes continued to air long after that.
However, Dylan and Cole haven't been financially compensated for this, unlike other child actors who continue to receive cheques after starring in productions such as Titanic, Superbad and The Lion King.
Sprouse sat down alongside his former co-star Phill Lewis, who played the iconic Mr Moseby on the hit Disney show, during the latest episode of his and Brendan Columbus' podcast, Wildmen.
As the conversation turned to finances, Sprouse explained he 'wanted to talk to' the comedian about something that he considers a sensitive topic - the lack of residual payments he has received.
"This surprises people that I've told in person," the All-Wise Meadery founder said.
"And I don't ever think I've said this on an interview, but the only residual check I've ever received for The Suite Life, at all, was for a crossover episode with Hannah Montana... for five cents. I'm not joking."
Sprouse went on to add: "So, imagine that. In a time where residuals would have been great... not a single paycheque for being arguably being one of the most popular shows on television."
Lewis also pointed out that episodes of The Suite Life were often aired several times a day at the height of the show's fame.
Screen stars really ought to try and shoehorn clauses regarding residual payments into their contracts, as it means they can earn a fee each time their work is reused or redistributed.
Any reruns or airings that take place after the project's initial release - such as it being broadcast on TV, someone buying it on DVD or downloading a digital form of it - equates to money in their pockets.
Sprouse is still hung up about the lack of residuals
"We were on four or five times a night because kids would just rewatch us," he told podcast listeners. "They put two episodes on a Tuesday, and they would run them just throughout the whole day."
Sprouse admitted that he hasn't exactly been able to get over the absence of residual cheques.
He went on: "I remember Danny Kallis, who was our show runner, running down to the set once with a newspaper that says 'The Suite Life is beating The Sopranos in ratings'.
"That pops in my head every once in a while and I go, 'And we still didn't get a single [expletive] residual!'"
Sprouse continued: "Back then there weren't any streaming services, right? The only things you could watch were a certain amount of channels.
"Disney Channel itself prided itself on being a channel where you could turn it on safely for kids, where there's no advertisements, there's no anything to cross over, and all you're going to watch are shows aimed at that age demographic. So mass appeal across the United States and the rest of the world."
Lewis, who said that there is 'not a day that goes by' without someone recognising him as Mr Moseby, also pointed out that the show was translated into dozens of different languages so it could be broadcast across the globe.
What shooting The Suite Life was like
He reflected on their days shooting The Suite Life and how he has spent 'the majority of his life' with Lewis, given the tiresome filming schedule they had to stick to two decades ago.
"It was every day, two weeks on, one week off," the father-of-one, who recently welcomed his first child with model Barbara Palvin, said.
Lewis then chimed in to explain the cast of the sitcom had a 'bizarre contract' which required them to shoot continuously throughout the calendar year. No matter how many episodes they filmed, the 58-year-old said it would still be considered 'a season' by TV chiefs.
"There's no end, really," Lewis claimed. "One season, we shot 30 episodes of television, but they called it one season because they didn't have to pay us bumps."
These days, you can watch the rambunctious young boys running around the Tipton Hotel on Disney+.
LADbible has contacted Disney for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Money, Disney, TV and Film
Olivia Burke
