Cole Sprouse and His Slice of Bread: A Love Story in Photos

Iris Apfel has her round glasses, Queen Elizabeth has her brightly colored hats, and now Cole Sprouse has a signature accessory of his own: a handy slice of bread, kept in his front pocket (as though it were a pocket square) for easy snack access. The actor showed off his utilitarian plus-one on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premiere of his new film Five Feet Apart on Thursday night (accompanied by his actual plus-one, Lili Reinhart).

In between posing for photos with Reinhart, Haley Lu Richardson, his costar in the dramedy, and his twin brother, Dylan, Sprouse made a dramatic show of discovering the bread in his pocket, waving it around for all to see, then gingerly returning it to his pocket for safekeeping. His slice of choice appears to be of the multigrain or whole-wheat variety and, curiously, already had a few bites taken out of it.

Scroll through to relive the entire magical encounter, from Sprouse’s “discovering” the healthy snack in what was undoubtedly a crumb-filled pocket to the longing look he bestowed upon the piece of bread before tucking it away, no doubt feeling a bit guilty for having even a fraction of a sandwich—not to mention a stylish multiuse accessory—while his friends, costars, reporters, and all other attendees at the event went without.

Gluten heads will be pleased to learn that this is not the first time Sprouse has used a piece of bread as an edible pocket square. Back in 2017, he posed for a photo with a few fans, and only after it had made the rounds on Twitter did people notice what looks like a good, crusty slice of ciabatta in the front pocket of his button-down.

It was that photo, in fact, that inspired Thursday night’s stunt. Earlier in the day, while filming an episode of The Late Late Show, the host James Corden asked Sprouse how that slice of bread had ended up in his pocket all those years ago. “You know, I’d prefer if we didn’t go into my personal life, if that’s okay,” Sprouse deadpanned, though he was more enthusiastic when Corden suggested that he make pocket bread his “thing.” “I got a premiere tonight, so I can—if you guys got some bread backstage, I’ll put a little bread in my pocket,” he said. Clearly, the rest is red-carpet history.

Related: Barbara Palvin Finally Met Cole Sprouse at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party