Dylan Sprouse Says His Only 'Suite Life' Residual Check Was Five Cents
Actor Dylan Sprouse said on the November 3 episode of Wildmen, the podcast he co-hosts with Brendan Columbus, that the only residual check he has ever received for Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody was for five cents, according to USA Today and Entertainment Weekly.
"The only residual check I've ever received for the 'Suite Life' at all was a crossover episode with 'Hannah Montana' for five cents. I'm not joking," Sprouse said. Residuals are payments actors receive, separate from their initial pay, when a production is rerun or reused.
The episode's guest was Phill Lewis, who played hotel manager Mr. Moseby on the series. Sprouse and his twin brother Cole starred in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody from 2005 to 2008, followed by The Suite Life on Deck from 2008 to 2011. On the podcast, Sprouse, Lewis and Columbus calculated that they made about 190 episodes of Suite Life television at Disney Channel. Lewis said the show aired in more than 90 countries and ran four or five times a night because kids kept rewatching it.
Sprouse said the contracts allowed the production to film as many episodes as it wanted in a calendar year and count them as a single season, so the young cast did not have to be paid salary bumps. He also recalled co-creator Danny Kallis bringing a newspaper to set saying Suite Life was beating The Sopranos in the ratings, and a young Sprouse asking, "What's 'The Sopranos'?"
Tiny residual checks have become a recurring topic among former child stars. According to USA Today's roundup, Wizards of Waverly Place actor David Henrie has said he gets "nothing really" from his Disney work; Jodie Sweetin shared a one-cent check in April; Ned's Declassified actor Jennifer Hyatt Tedmori said her checks included one for two cents and totaled $8.63; and Josh Peck said in June that he receives no residuals from Drake & Josh despite having made about $15,000 an episode.
Entertainment Weekly said it contacted Disney for comment and did not receive an immediate response.
Source: Dylan Sprouse's 'Wildmen' podcast
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