Cole Sprouse once left his Disney mouse ears behind for a cap and gown, but he's recently pulled on another famous hat—or, should we say, crown beanie? Sprouse returned to the small screen this year as the lovably brooding Jughead Jones on Riverdale, the CW's twisted take on the beloved Archie comics.

If you haven't heard of the Gossip Girl–meets–Twin Peaks hit, you're probably the only one. Since its premiere in January, it's become a cult favorite. If he were any other member of the cast, Sprouse might be overwhelmed with the fame and recognition. But he's been here before.

We talked to the 24-year-old about life as a child star with his twin brother, Dylan, weird fan interactions, feminism, and those divisive Riverdale ships.

A lot of the Disney cohort went on to major acting careers and projects right away—what made you choose to go to college and take a different route?

I think regardless of success, all those kids were dealing with a similar dilemma when it came to their maturity and their publicity and fame, and how they were viewed in the public eye. Some people choose sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to come to terms with it. Some people find religion. [College] seemed like the most productive way to prove to people we were coming into ourselves. I was finding out my identity and growing by going to an institution where I could evolve and become more adept at understanding why I was thinking certain things, and how society viewed me.

Acting requires a great amount of empathy for real lived human experiences. I hadn't lived any real human experiences outside of homeschool and being in a sound stage, and there was really no other option. I couldn't continue to live in a bubble and hope to be an empathic actor. It doesn't work. I was really sick of the entertainment industry and wanted to step away. Dylan and I were nonstop—we were being recognized and it was overbearing, and I figured it would be nice to let that dissolve. I didn't know if I was going to return, and then this project sort of crept up.

Are you enjoying it now that you're back?

Yeah, it's fulfilling, and I think that's the only currency I am looking for right now. As long as it stays fulfilling, I will continue doing it, but the second it stops being fulfilling I'll leave.

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What does your brother think of 'Riverdale'?

He supports the show…. I don't know if he enjoys it. This kind of programming has never really been our flavor of choice. I don't really want him to watch anything I do and I don't really watch anything he'll do. We have a very easy time separating work and play and I wouldn't really care less if he watched or if he enjoyed it. I don't really have an easy time watching myself, so I guess I sort of imprint that upon my friends and family.

Originally, you you argued to keep Jughead asexual and aromantic, as he is in the comics. What did those conversations sound like?

When we got the parts, the creative team sat down with the actors and asked how they saw each character. I had argued for a super faithful representation of Jughead as he lives in the comics, which inherently was also me arguing for the aromantic, asexual Jughead. But [they] are two very different versions of the same character in two very different universes.

It's very strange to me how much attention this [has received]. I am an actor. I have an idea of what I see for the character and I can express that idea and that opinion, but ultimately it is out of my hands. If this were a different kind of programming or it were my show, it would probably look a little bit different, but the commercial success of Riverdale and how people are talking and liking it shows that we've gone in a direction that makes a lot of sense and works.

It's one of those things that needs representation but has not been properly represented. It's something I still fight for and it's something I fought for about the second season, but ultimately it's not in my court. I guess we will see where the narrative takes us.

Lili Reinhart (Betty) and Cole Sprouse (Jughead) in Dean Buscher/The CW

On a lighter note, once and for all, because the internet can't agree, is the Jughead/Betty ship called Jetty or Bughead?

[Laughs] I think it's Bughead. It's the single strangest name for a coupling ever, but it works.

There seem to be two main Riverdale fan ships: Bughead and Beronica (Betty/Veronica). Which one are you behind?

I actually really ship Betty and Archie. When I would read the Archie comics when I was younger I was rooting for Betty and Archie way over any alternative. [I think I would have seen] that long-lived, childlike romance from two people knowing each other since youth as probably quite romantic. I am a sucker for that childhood romance narrative.

Riverdale is about to ignite into flames considering how the camps are at war with each other.

I know our fans take very specific camps with who they ship and who they want and all those camps are at huge war with one another. Riverdale is about to ignite into flames considering how the camps are at war with each other. I try not to involve myself too much.

I am sorry I just brought you into it.

[Laughs] Well, the question we get all the time as a cast is, 'Are you a Betty or Veronica person?' I don't like that. I think it's hard and it also puts the cast members against one another in a strange and competitive way that makes me a little uncomfortable. So most of our cast don't even answer it.

How did your fan-catcher Instagram account @Camera_Duels get started? Are you ever going to bring it back?

I was younger and just about to go to college, and very discontented with the way people were treating me in the public sphere. Sometimes you can read someone's aura and actions—they're shifting and fidgeting, and they're fumbling for the phone. It's a dehumanizing, very obvious kind of thing.

I would always be dissatisfied that people wouldn't just ask, because I always say yes. So @camera_duels was born. It was a way of coping or trying to turn it around in my favor and give me more agency in a situation. I felt sort of like a man behind a glass wall. It ended up really helping me, so much that I stopped. I found the whole thing not to really disturb me anymore.

I am sure with Riverdale increasing ever so slowly in prestige, it will only increase in intensity and I'll bring it back. But I think it deserves something a little bit more now. I've been thinking about getting a film camera with a quick auto focus and a nice flash to make it into something that could be found in a gallery space, which I think would be more enjoyable to me.

Cate Cameron/The CW

You recently subtweeted yourself, over a comment you made as an 11-year-old, where you said you like girls who don't wear too much makeup. Do you consider yourself a feminist?

There is no question I consider myself a feminist, but I also think the term 'feminist' has become a topical thing to say without backing it up with any real action. My satirical tweet about my old opinion doesn't solidify me as a figure within a conversation that's so much greater than my straight, white male opinion. My Twitter is a joke toilet and I filter all these old, cringe-y parts of my brother and my childhood through that, in an attempt to flush it down the drain forever. When you grow older, you unpack the way masculinity teaches you to view women.

Going back to the question of whether I am a feminist or not: Yes. I think the core of that question is do you support equality for women, and of course. It's funny that it even becomes a touchy or sensitive thing for people to announce formally, it's kind of fucking ludicrous. There is not a question in my mind. There are, of course, places and spheres where I wish I would have done more to make those actions back up the title, but I think that's something that as I grow and I age and I get a little more agency within my society, I'll always try and work towards that.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Riverdale airs on Thursdays at 9 P.M. ET on the CW.

Emily Tannenbaum Entertainment Editor Emily is the entertainment editor at Cosmopolitan, which is a nice way of saying she watches way too much TV and constantly wants to tell you about it.

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