Cole Sprouse Calls Being A Child Star And A Twin in L.A. “The Perfect Little Labor Exploitation” On ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’

On today’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Drew Barrymore — who has been acting since she was an infant — bonded her guests, Lisa Frankenstein co-stars Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton, over their experiences as child stars.

Sprouse, like Barrymore, got his start appearing in diaper commercials alongside his twin brother, Dylan Sprouse.

“We did a lot of diaper commercials when Dylan and I were babies, because twins, I don’t know if you guys know his, but twins you can swap out, we’re the perfect little labor exploitation,” he sarcastically joked, giving a thumbs up to the camera.

“It’s so fun and refreshing to talk to people who have been on a similar path. I loved working as a kid,” Drew said of her own time as a child actor. “I was raised with a single mom, we were in financial dire straits. Was there a sort of a ‘how to bring income into the household’ aspect when you and your brother went to work?”

Sprouse replied, “I think when you grow up in Los Angeles and the major industry around you is film and television it can be an incredibly lucrative thing. I think for most of the families, whether they started as kids or they started a little later, like, that’s our major industry in L.A. so it was a tremendous money-maker for everyone, and it didn’t matter if you were behind the scenes, it didn’t matter if you were in front of the camera, so it became a really good and at the time, an easy way for us to make a quick buck.”

Barrymore then mentioned how much she loved the extended families that were created on the sets she worked on, giving Newton an opportunity to discuss the fact that on All My Children, her in-show siblings were played by Kelly Ripa, Jonathan Bennett and Josh Duhamel.

“It’s so strange though because when you’re little, after they switched these people out, like, Jonathan Bennett wasn’t my brother anymore, I still went with him to Toys R Us. I was convinced he was my brother. Kelly Ripa was my sister. I know now she’s not, and I’m okay, but it took a minute,” she deadpanned.

Barrymore then applauded the two actors for the chemistry they have in their new film, crediting their lengthy careers for helping them create a natural, impressive relationship with one another.

“I do think that growing up in similar ways… you can talk to people in a different way,” she said of their shared experience.

Lisa Frankenstein is in theaters this week. The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.