(groovy rock music) - Hey guys, I'm Cole Sprouse, and this is my Variety cover shoot. I talk to my brother at
least once a day, or try to. I don't talk to him about career- So how's your career? But I think a lot of people
thought that my brother and I had only ever shared roles or done roles side by side when we were kids, but we did a lot of roles
separate when we were kids. We were all over the map. I mean we had done
commercials, and music videos, and TV, and film, and direct-to-DVD film, and we were on Blockbuster shelves on whatever it was in the back. It was inevitable that my
brother and I eventually decided to pursue different
parts of the industry and pursue different careers, and I think he and I don't really
look too similar anymore so we can't really do the
whole kitschy twin thing. I also think it's a little embarrassing if people do that at my age. Twins reach an age where they either decide to be like fully
formed individuals, or they decide to become
The Shining twins, which is really terrifying,
and I'm just glad my brother and I missed whatever
fork in the road that was. Where we both dressed in like overalls and like sailor caps or whatever the hell. (funky guitar music) Having an identical twin
next to me going through the same exact experiences
in a very similar way with a very similar point
of view is therapeutic. When you're a child actor, you're a minor, and so a lot of the
larger business decisions that are controlling your career are done outside of your own agency. One of the dangers of,
at least my position, which was a sitcom inside a sound stage for like nine years with Disney Channel, you're raised in such
an insular environment that you forget what
real human experience, or boots on the ground,
actually looks like. Taking time for college
was really important. I think it's one of those things that I'd recommend to
every single young actor. That allowed me to regain a
semblance of my anonymity, which is something
that's really important. Anonymity is one of those things that allows you to
enter into a human space with a kind of open
heart and really be able move with more agency
and learn about people, and learn about their
stories without these sort of predetermined notions of yourself being carried by other people. I also had the luxury of
being identified as a duo for a long time with my brother, and when I separated and
sort of did my own thing, I wasn't as easily recognized. (funky guitar music) I think an issue that we're
dealing with recoiling from social media and the internet age. I found the internet rewards extremes, so it started to encourage a real sensationalist kind of thinking. That's bound to have adverse effects, and the short-term attention span economy that's sorta been built within it has allowed us to ingest a
tremendous amount of propaganda. As we look back upon this period, we're really going to see
with a bit more clarity what we were actually digesting. When I started, social media
was not a thing at all. And now it's become a
fundamental component to the success of your young career. I feel for a lot of the kids
who are in my position now within the social media age
where you are growing up and you're forced to
make a kind of commentary and be scrutinized with
severe sensationalism that the internet breeds
without acknowledging just how young you are, and how you can be
stupid when you're a kid. I also think that the obsession with social media and follower counts is coming from a statistically minded group of employers and CEOs that are looking at follower
counts as butts in seats, and it's not really the case. I think social media
following is really illusory. I think it's also dangerous to rely on social media following as an indication of talent or success. I think it's more of a publicity machine than an actual filter for talent, and so I don't think it's good for actors. The industry is going
to hopefully reevaluate how it looks at this stuff. This actually doesn't put people in seats. Make some money, you know? I doesn't make money. Which is the language that
we're all using, I suppose.
