LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Alyson Stoner, who co-starred with the Sprouse brothers — Dylan and Cole — in 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,' didn't know a kiss was planned when they went in for an audition, but "it's assumed that you're going to agree to whatever's scripted."
Stoner, who uses they/them pronouns, debuted on Disney's 'Mike’s Super Short Show' in 2001, before they went on to star in 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody', 'Phineas and Ferb' and 'That’s So Raven'.
The actor detailed her 'The Suite Life' audition on social media, saying that she was not told that she would have to kiss on the show. She was only 12 years old at the time.
In a series of 'Dear Hollywood' TikToks, the former child star, who played Max on the 'The Suite Life' talked about the kiss episode that they felt particularly uncomfortable filming but did it anyway.
Where is Max from 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'?
Stoner, who is now 30, played the Sprouse twins' pal Max on the show. It was a recurring role, opposite Dylan and Cole Sprouse playing the lead roles of Zack and Cody Martin, respectively.
Stoner was 12 years old when the sitcom premiered, while Dylan and Cole were 13 years old.
Stoner is now popular for their 'Dear Hollywood' TikTok series. Stoner, in a recent episode, recalled how they felt "young and uncomfortable" throughout the entire process of portraying Max based on the writers' whims.
"So, writers and directors might decide to make your character do anything on the next episode, and it's assumed that you're going to agree to whatever is scripted," Stoner stated in the video.
Stoner added: "My first kiss and several of the times I experienced kissing all happened on camera. I remember on Suite Life on Disney, I'd already booked the role of Max and I'd filmed an episode. Well, a few weeks later, they wrote an episode where Max had to kiss both twins."
They are probably referring to the first season episode 'Kisses and Basketball,' where Max hurriedly kissed Zack after they won a crucial basketball game. But there was never a screen kiss between Max and Cody.
The 'Cheaper by the Dozen' star admitted that they were unprepared for the plotline because they were not aware of the kissing criteria when they went in for Max's audition. They nevertheless felt compelled to finish it.
They continued, "I felt young and uncomfortable. I felt like, you know, this is part of my job. I chose to act and audition for this project. It's only a character."
She added, "So in that way, I justified like, 'Okay, I can have my kiss here and then I'll have my own separate first kiss at some point.'"
Did Alyson Stoner date either Dylan or Cole Sprouse in real life?
During an appearance on 'The Night Time Show' podcast in 2016, Stoner stated they started a brief romance with the 'Riverdale' alum, Cole Sprouse, when they were both preteens, as per Page Six. They have never dated Dylan.
Stoner recalled, "The first boy, I guess, that I had like a crush on and dated was Cole Sprouse," adding that they subsequently split up because he "dumped me on my birthday."
Is Alyson Stoner queer?
Stoner has previously spoken openly about coping with unjust treatment in the industry.
They wrote an emotional essay on their first experience falling in love with a woman in March 2018, the same month they came out as an LGBTQIA+ community member.
On an episode of the 'I'm Literally Screaming' podcast, they claimed, "I did end up getting fired from a children’s show because they felt that I was unsafe, now that they knew I was queer, to be around kids. So there was like, definitely discrimination."
