Fans rejoice as beloved Friends actor, 32, makes a surprising comeback

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

He once starred in one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time but Cole Sprouse, 32, has come a long way from his days on the Friends set.
The former child star, who portrayed Ross Geller's son Ben in seven episodes of the beloved series, is now best known for his lead role in Netflix 's Riverdale.
But it's another project that has fans rejoicing once again this week.
Sprouse's side hustle is running a chaotic, cult-favorite Instagram account called @camera_duels, where he posts candid snaps of fans who try to secretly photograph him in public by snapping a photo of them back.
The account became a viral sensation a couple of years ago but in June 2023 Sprouse stopped posting to it.
'It started because I was pissed off,' Cole previously told Wonderland magazine. 'I try to approach a lot of the strange trappings of celebrity and the culture with comedy… the actions and feelings and vibes that people put off when they're about to do something like that is so obvious and comical that it begs a duel.'
The account was originally meant to shame people who tried to sneak photos without asking.
But it has ironically turned into a bucket list item for fans with many admitting they now try to stage a stealth photo just to be featured.
'That was an oversight on my behalf,' Cole admitted. 'I should have seen that coming!'
Now Sprouse is back posting to his Instagram. Last week he shared a rambling yet poetic takedown of a father in a Speedo snapping a photo of him at the beach.
The caption included everything from commentary on the surveillance state to the unfortunate visibility of 'a 50+ shivering meatus' behind thin swimwear.
Fans couldn't get enough and the post left followers fangirling over him.
His account now boasts over 4.6million followers, with each post bombarded with fan messages.
Sprouse played Ben for just seven episodes between 2000 and 2002 but suddenly disappeared from Friends without explanation.
The real reason was because his character was written out as the show to focus more on Ross' relationship with Rachel and later, their daughter Emma.
Still, despite his brief time on the show, the Friends fans have not let go.
Fans have speculated that Ross may have lost custody of Ben off-screen, due to his increasingly erratic behavior.
Sprouse himself has even joked about the theory, agreeing that Ross 'wasn't the most present father' during a previous GQ interview.
In 2015, a Reddit user named D.F. Lovett hypothesized that Cole's character still existed but that Ross lost custody of him.
'Friends was on for ten seasons, but Ben doesn't show up in person after episode 12 of season eight,' the Reddit user posted.
The post continued: 'He's only mentioned six times in the remaining 54 episodes after his last appearance.
'People like to give Ross the benefit of the doubt, wondering if perhaps he was a better father off-screen. Perhaps his children met but the audience never saw.
'The more likely answer is that he was such a deadbeat father that he completely faded away from his son's life, pretending to his family and so-called friends that he still saw a boy he barely knew.'
Sprouse has also previously shared details of his time on set and admitted he had a major crush on Jennifer Aniston while filming Friends at just eight years old.
'I had a really, really hard time working with Aniston because I was so in love with her', he confessed to the New York Post.
'I was infatuated. I was speechless. I'd get all bubbly and forget my lines and go completely blank. It was difficult.'
The role on Friends was Cole's first acting job where he starred without his twin brother, Dylan, because the sitcom didn't require both twins.
Sprouse went on to star on Disney's The Suite Life of Zach and Cody with his brother before landing a role as Jughead in Riverdale after graduating from college.
Sprouse said fans still regularly recognize him as Ben from Friends.
'Because Friends is on Netflix, there's renewed interest,' he explained in an interview with Marie Claire in 2022. 'People can call me 'Ben' on the street and I will turn around.'