Actor Dylan Sprouse has revealed that he received almost no money from reruns of Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, despite starring in one of the channel’s most popular shows.
Speaking on the 3 November episode of his Wildmen podcast, the 34-year-old said he had received only one residual payment during his time on the series and its spin-off, The Suite Life on Deck.
The cheque was worth just five cents and came from a 2006 crossover episode with Hannah Montana, starring Miley Cyrus.
«I’m not joking,» Sprouse said, explaining that he never received another residual payment for the show.
Residuals are payments actors may receive when their work is broadcast again or made available on streaming platforms.
Sprouse played Zack Martin alongside his twin brother Cole, who portrayed Cody. The original series aired from 2005 to 2008, followed by The Suite Life on Deck from 2008 to 2011.
Despite their popularity, Sprouse said the shows did not bring in the additional income he had expected.
He recalled that showrunner Danny Kallis once brought a newspaper to the set showing that The Suite Life had reportedly beaten HBO’s The Sopranos in television ratings.
How Disney allegedly kept actors’ pay down
Sprouse discussed the payments with his former co-star Phill Lewis, who played hotel manager Mr Moseby.
Lewis claimed that Disney used an unusual contract arrangement that allowed the network to film large numbers of episodes within a single calendar year while treating them as one television season.
«They called it one season because they didn’t have to pay us bumps,» Lewis said, referring to salary increases.
He also claimed that the production sometimes created additional episodes by combining scenes filmed over several weeks without paying the cast extra residuals.
Sprouse said the series received surprisingly little financial support from the network despite its success.
«We were extremely popular, but also extremely underfunded,» he said.
The actors’ comments have renewed questions about how Disney compensated its child stars and performers during the 2000s.
Disney has not publicly responded to the claims. Entertainment Weekly said it had contacted the company for comment.
Both The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck remain available to watch on Disney+.
