EXCLUSIVE: Dylan Sprouse Compares Disney Child Stardom to Hard Labor

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum Dylan Sprouse said his years as a Disney star were anything but sweet, and he compares being a child actor to underage workers of past eras, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

"Some kids used to work in coal mines and guard the mine cart door when they were 15, we just sang and danced – it's still child labor," the 34-year-old reasons.

Dylan and his twin brother, Cole [Sprouse], starred in the Disney Channel hit from 2005 to 2008, playing Zack and Cody Martin, twin brothers living inside the fictional Tipton Hotel. They then appeared in the series' spinoff, The Suite Life on Deck, set on a boat, from 2008 to 2011.

Dylan is quick to acknowledge that acting isn't in any way comparable to some of the dangerous jobs children have had in the past.

Still, he argued the reality is that child actors are working the same hours as adults with a full-time job do.

"I've described this to people a lot before, when you're working on television, it's a day job," he explained. "You go in, you clock in, you clock out, you have a cubicle, you work, obviously, you're on a stage, and it's different, but it's the same hours. You work it like that."

Because children are more emotionally vulnerable, he was also left with "this void" when a show ended because his self-esteem was so closely tied to his ability to continue working.

He admitted he's still dealing with the "bulls--t" and "mental hurdles" left over from his early career, which began when he and Cole were just eight months old.

The identical twins first shared roles on the ABC series Grace Under Fire, which ran from 1993 to 1998, and in the 1999 movie Big Daddy.