Cole Sprouse is finally returning to TV. But this time, The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody star is doing it on his own terms. Later, Disney Channel.

“I’m not saying that we didn’t enjoy that time, but it was work,” Sprouse told Entertainment Weekly Monday, when asked about playing Cody Martin on the wildly popular kids' show. "It’s a career and a business, and it got me to college, which is one of the most fantastic gifts I could’ve been given. But I’m glad to be [acting] on my own accord now.”

Sprouse traded his Disney Channel ties for the CW, where he'll star in the upcoming Riverdale, based on the Archie comics. He's even dyed his hair black for the role of Jughead Jones, Archie's former best friend.

"My brother [Dylan] and I were put into acting when we were eight months old by our mother because we needed the money," Sprouse once said in a revealing Tumblr audio post. "[Acting] was never my passion."

That's why Sprouse studied archeology, not acting, at NYU. Now that he's explored other interests and gotten his degree, he's ready to continue acting without the "feeling of machination" Disney Channel gave him.

"I needed to take a break and step outside myself," Sprouse continued to EW. "I needed a dose of reality and I needed to see myself in a more objective point of view. And now I think I can enjoy [acting], which is a really fundamental part about being an actor."