'Suite Life of Zack & Cody' star Kim Rhodes said Dylan Sprouse refused to make a 'fat joke' at her expense and told the producer to 'write something funny' instead

• Kim Rhodes said Dylan Sprouse refused to say a fat joke aimed at her when she was pregnant.
• Rhodes played a single mom on "Suite Life" and was pregnant while filming some episodes.

"The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" actor Kim Rhodes has shared how her costars Dylan and Cole Sprouse were mature beyond their years while shooting the Disney Channel sitcom.

Appearing on a November 16 episode of the "Back to the Best" podcast, Rhodes recalled her time starring in the series in which she played Carey Martin, a single mom and lounge singer who lived in a suite at the fictional Tipton Hotel with her sons, Zack (Dylan Sprouse) and Cody (Cole Sprouse).

Rhodes detailed two instances when the Sprouse twins showed surprising maturity on set. The first, Rhodes said, was "one of my earliest experiences with Dylan and Cole," and happened after she accidentally swore on set despite being warned by a crew member to watch her language.

"I said something and this individual held up the swear jar and shook their finger at me," she said. "I'm crumbling inside, like, I just assume anybody who isn't me has the power to tell me what I should be doing."

Rhodes said the Sprouses came to her defense. She recalled: "Cole goes: 'We've worked with Adam Sandler!' and Dylan goes: 'Yeah, we've heard them all already, I think she's fine!'"

"That was the first season, this was, like, the third episode. They were maybe 12 when they said this," she added. "They defended me all the way through."

The second instance came when she became pregnant and was subjected to various fat jokes at her expense.

"Of course, the show dealt with it by making fat jokes," Rhodes said. "One of my favorite memories is that Dylan had a line that was a fat joke and he kept skipping over it."

"It was in the middle of a chunk of dialogue, so he kept skipping this laugh line and skipping it, and skipping it, and skipping it," she continued. "Finally, we get in front of the studio audience, and he skips it, and the executive producer screams: 'Cut!'"

"He goes: 'Dylan, say the line,'" Rhodes said. "And he goes, 'I would not disrespect any woman that way, let alone this woman. You write something funny and I'll say it.'"

Representatives for Sprouse and It's a Laugh Productions, the production company behind "Suite Life," did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment made outside regular working hours.

Rhodes added: "That's my little man. They're both my little men, they both were very protective of everyone on set."

Rhodes said part of the reason the Sprouses stood up for her might have been because of some advice Phill Lewis, who played Mr. Moseby, imparted to them early on.

"Phill was like: 'Look, you're the only people on this set that are not expendable, so you take the bullet every time,' and they took that so seriously," she shared.

"And so the fact they, at such a young age, understood that it was their job to make sure everybody else was able to do their job was really impressive," Rhodes added.