<P> The Sprouses were born at a small hospital called Clinica Tanganelli in Arezzo, Italy, to American parents Matthew Sprouse and Melanie Wright, while they were teaching at an English language school in Tuscany . Dylan was named after Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, and Cole is named after jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole . Dylan is 15 minutes older than Cole . They have German ancestry . The boys moved back to the United States four months after their birth to their parents' native Long Beach, California . Some of the money Dylan and Cole earned by acting was used to buy a house in Calabasas, California, where their family still lived as of summer 2012 . </P> <P> The Sprouses began acting at the age of eight months following a suggestion from their grandmother, Jonine Booth Wright, who was a drama teacher and actress . The twins first appeared in a commercial for diapers, switching on - screen time every few seconds . As with many twins, the two have often played the same role, due to child labor laws in California restricting the amount of time children can be filmed in a day . Casting twins in a single role thus allows more time for the character to be filmed . Beginning at eight months old, the two played a single character, Patrick Kelly, on the ABC series Grace Under Fire . </P> <P> In 1999, the boys appeared in their first major feature film, Big Daddy, in which they shared the role of a five - year - old boy named Julian who is adopted by Adam Sandler's character, Sonny Koufax . Though the film received mixed reviews, the two were nominated for multiple awards for their role in the film . However, they did not win any . The same year, the boys also had a minor role in the thriller The Astronaut's Wife . The Sprouses have noted that after Big Daddy's release, they entered a slow period in their careers and were not cast in any major roles for a time . During the early 2000s, the twins appeared in episodes of The Nightmare Room and That' 70s Show, as well as in Mad TV and portrayed roles in the feature films The Master of Disguise and Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights . Cole began appearing in episodes of the television show Friends, as Ross Geller's son Ben in 2001; this role was not shared with Dylan . </P> <P> They both appeared in I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and Just for Kicks, both of which were family films that received a direct - to - video release . David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews said of their acting in Just for Kicks that the brothers "aren't the worst child actors I've ever seen,...but they certainly leave a lot to be desired ." Dylan and Cole were later cast in the Disney Channel original series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, where they portrayed identical twins Zack and Cody Martin, respectively . The series, which debuted in March 2005, became a ratings success . As part of their involvement with Disney, the brothers also became part of the 11 - member group, the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, and sang the song "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" along with the members of the circle, for a video that was released as bonus material in the special edition version of the Disney film Cinderella . They also participated in the Disney Channel Games . </P>

Who plays the little kid in big daddy
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