Cole Sprouse says ‘fame is a trauma’ while reflecting on his career

Former Disney actor Cole Sprouse has opened up about the plights of child stardom, recalling how the young women around him were “so heavily sexualised”.

Cole Sprouse is reflecting on growing up as a child actor – and the “trauma” that came with it.

Sprouse revealed he has a “complicated relationship” with celebrity culture in a recent interview with The New York Times while promoting his upcoming movie Moonshot, Fox News reports.

Sprouse began acting when he was six months old alongside his brother Dylan Sprouse.

US actor Cole Sprouse spoke of the “trauma” of being a child actor. Picture: AFP.

Sprouse played the role of Ross Geller’s son on Friends before he and Dylan gained fame for their roles in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. After their Disney Channel careers, the two took a break from acting, with Sprouse returning to performing with a role in Riverdale.

Cole also starred alongside Adam Sandler in 1999 film Big Daddy.

“I started acting when I was so young that I hadn’t actually attempted, as an adult, to think about if I really enjoyed performance,” Sprouse told The New York Times.

“When I returned, I reminded myself that I do very much love the art of acting. But I still have a very complicated relationship to celebrity culture.”

Sprouse has stayed out of the spotlight this time around, keeping his relationships private.

The actor further explained why his childhood acting career went differently than the young women in the industry.

Most will remember Cole as Ben Geller, the son of David Schwimmer’s character Ross Geller.

“My brother and I used to get quite a bit of, ‘Oh, you made it out! Oh, you’re unscathed!’ No.

“The young women on the channel we were on [Disney Channel] were so heavily sexualised from such an earlier age than my brother and I that there’s absolutely no way that we could compare our experiences. And every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience.”

Sprouse is defensive of his fellow childhood actors, especially the women, because of the “unique” experiences.

Cole Sprouse with ex-girlfriend and Riverdale co-star Lili Reinhart. Picture: Getty Images.

“When we talk about child stars going nuts, what we’re not actually talking about is how fame is a trauma,” he continued.

“So I’m violently defensive against people who mock some of the young women who were on the channel when I was younger because I don’t feel like it adequately comprehends the humanity of that experience and what it takes to recover.”

“And, to be quite honest, as I have now gone through a second big round of this fame game as an adult, I’ve noticed the same psychological effects that fame yields upon a group of young adults as I did when I was a child.

“I just think people have an easier time hiding it when they’re older.”

This article originally appeared on Fox News and is reproduced here with permission