Sets of celebrity siblings who have worked together

sets of celebrity siblings who have worked together

• Some famous siblings have worked together on TV shows, in movies, or for musical collaborations.
• Brothers Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse grew up in the spotlight together with their roles on Disney Channel’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody.”

Growing up with a relative in the spotlight can lead some family members to follow in each other’s footsteps. While some family members try to avoid working together, like brothers Dave and James Franco for a while, others, like John and Joan Cusack, have teamed up multiple times. 

Twins Cole and Dylan Sprouse won teen hearts as the leads on Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and subsequent spin-off “The Suite Life on Deck.”
The twins started their acting careers as babies when the played the same character on “Grace Under Fire.” They made their film debuts as the same kid in “Big Daddy.” While the actors continued to play some of the same characters or star alongside each other throughout the years, they also pursued separate projects.

Both Sprouse brothers took a break from acting and attended New York University.

Dylan studied video game design and opened All-Wise Meadery in Brooklyn, with two business partners, in 2018. Cole studied archaeology and went back into acting after graduating. He currently stars on “Riverdale.”

Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal have been in a couple of projects together since they were children.
As kids, the two siblings starred in “A Dangerous Woman,” which was directed by their father. With their mom, the pair were on two episodes of “Molto Mario,” an Italian cooking show on the Food Network.

But perhaps their best-known collaboration was in “Donnie Darko,” where they play siblings. Director Richard Kelly told Vox they had to convince Maggie that the role was meant for her.

“Immediately, she was like, Richard, you’re only offering this to me because I’m Jake’s big sister. You should be finding the best actress for the role,” Kelly said. “So she was already trying to talk me out of casting her, in a very selfless way. And I was just really impressed by that … So I was really determined to convince her to do it after that.”

He added that casting her helped cement the sibling dynamic on-screen.

“Maggie was really an essential piece of the puzzle that makes that family dynamic work in the film,” he said. “I’m grateful that she agreed to do the role.”

Twins Tia and Tamera Mowry starred on “Sister, Sister” together, but their brother Tahj appeared on a couple of episodes, too.

The sisters were in a singing group and have appeared in various projects together. 

From playing long-lost twins on “Sister, Sister” to siblings in “Twitches” and “Twitches Too” to starring on their own reality show, these sisters have built up similar resumes. But they have also held pursued their individual careers. 

After appearing on his sister’s show, Tahj got his own show, “Smart Guy,” in which he played a child genius. 

Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have worked together since they were babies.

The twins made their acting debuts as infants playing Michelle Tanner on “Full House,” switching the role between themselves.

As children, they appeared in other TV and film roles together, which included short movies like “Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble,” a musical mystery series called “The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley,” and a series called “You’re Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley’s.”

As their career continued to thrive, they made their feature film debut in “It Takes Two” and then started their own string of direct-to-video movies that included “Billboard Dad” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.”

They also had an animated series and starred on “So Little Time.” Their final acting project together was 2004’s “New York Minute.” Mary-Kate continued to act a bit on her own.

But they didn’t stop working together. They created a clothing line for Wal-Mart and launched their own couture label called “The Row.”

Dave and James Franco played best friends in “The Disaster Artist.”

Brothers Dave and James have worked together on a couple of films, like James’ “The Broken Tower,” a film he made for his master’s thesis from New York University, but largely kept away from the same projects. All of that changed with “The Disaster Artist.” 

James and Dave play real-life friends Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero in the hilarious movie about the making of the “The Room,” known now as the best-worst movie. James also produced and directed the film. 

Dave told Variety that he avoided working with his older brother because he wanted to establish his career on his own.

“For a while, I made a conscious decision not to work with him, just because I wanted to pave my own path,” he said. “I didn’t want to be referred to as ‘James Franco’s little brother’ for the rest of my life. But we have very similar sensibilities.”