Brenda Song Recalls Being 'Overworked and Underpaid' on Disney's Suite Life

Brenda Song says her childhood years starring on Disney's 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' are a blur. The actress told her former co-star Dylan Sprouse on his 'Wildmen' podcast that large stretches of that time are simply missing from her memory, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Song stated she looks back on that era feeling 'underpaid and overworked'. She clarified to Sprouse that while she had a 'lovely time' overall, the intense workload and compensation were the hard parts, per Variety.

A specific physical toll was mentioned. Song recalled once fainting on set and wondering in the moment if she was having a panic attack.

The conversation also turned to residuals. Dylan Sprouse revealed on his podcast that the only residual check he ever received for the massively popular show was for five cents, from a crossover episode with 'Hannah Montana'.

Co-host Brendan Columbus and guest Phill Lewis described a production practice called 'wraparound episodes'. They alleged the crew would film a single scene from a future episode each week, compiling a full episode over time without it counting as a new episode for pay, as reported by THR.