Brenda Song recently revealed that she felt she was “overworked” and “underpaid” while starring on “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” The “Running Point” actress opened up about her experience working on the Disney Channel sitcom while appearing on her former co-star Dylan Sprouse’s and co-host Brendan Columbus’ “Wildmen” podcast.
“I’ve been curious to ask you about this. Like, I feel like there are parts of the ‘Suite Life’ that are, like, black holes for me. Like, I don’t remember years of my life,” Song said, before moving onto the subject of residuals. “I look at that time and I was like, we paid them,” Song said. “I always say this about my time at Disney, is like, I know everybody has their own journey [because]… I always say, like, I have a boring tale… I had a lovely time.”
Song did admit that she passed out on set once while filming a scene that called for a hot tub, which malfunctioned and was heated to “250 degrees,” said Sprouse. “I remember just breathing really heavy, and my chest felt really hot. I just went, ‘Am I having a panic attack?’ And then all of a sudden I remember stars and gone.”
She continued: “I think the only thing that was hard about that time was I feel like we were underpaid and overworked. But Disney did give us a platform to be sitting here right now. So it’s very hard to complain about certain things.”
Earlier this month, Sprouse also touched on how the show was “extremely underfunded,” despite being “popular” on his podcast. “In terms of the channel higher-ups, we were also kind of weirdly the ugly duckling,” Sprouse said, before adding that “the only residual check I’ve ever received for ‘The Suite Life’ at all was a crossover episode with ‘Hannah Montana’ for five cents. I’m not joking,” he said. “Imagine that. In a time where residuals would have been great,” Sprouse added, “Not a single paycheck for being arguably one of the most popular shows.”
The “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” ran from 2005 to 2008 and followed the titular Zack and Cody as they lived at the Tipton Hotel with their single mother. Song played teenage heiress London Tipton. The show inspired a spinoff, “The Suite Life on Deck,” which aired from 2008 to 2011. Song, Debby Ryan, Erin Cardillo and more starred in the continuation.
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