How Cole Sprouse's “Lisa Frankenstein” Role Helped Him to Fulfill His Childhood Dream (Exclusive)

The actor underwent hours of makeup and prosthetic application to play “The Creature” in the Kathryn Newton-starring horror-comedy

Cole Sprouse is letting his inner child out to play in the new movie Lisa Frankenstein.

“I always wanted to play a monster,” the Riverdale alum, 31, tells PEOPLE.

So the role of a mute reanimated corpse — known only as “The Creature” — in the Kathryn Newton-starring horror-comedy was something of a dream come true for someone whose favorite movies, as both a kid and adult, feature Godzilla.

“It felt like one of those opportunities that I would be able to high-five my 10-year-old self about and be like, ‘Yeah, buddy, we did it!’ ” he says with a grin.

Related: Kathryn Newton First Met Lisa Frankenstein Costar Cole Sprouse at Age 7: 'I Asked Him' for a Photo (Exclusive)

Even the hours of heavy prosthetic application required to transform Sprouse into an undead Victorian-era zombie unearthed in 1989 were part of what made the experience “really fun,” he says. 

“I didn't really mind the long periods of time in the makeup trailer,” says the self-professed “big geek for practical effects.”

Getting a face cast done to execute all those prosthetics, however, was a little difficult — a “tomb-like experience,” in fact.

“It was a bit claustrophobic,” admits Sprouse. “They basically completely cover your head in a block of silicone except for one nostril to allow you to breathe out of … full sensory deprivation. You do your Zen work and you try as best you can to not have a panic attack.”

Not many actors would agree to such a daunting transformation — or a lead role with little to no lines, as The Creature only communicates via grunts and growls. But Sprouse, who wants “to make the kind of work that I love watching,” isn’t most actors.

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An irreverent genre-mashup movie like Lisa Frankenstein more than fits the bill , especially since it’s written by Oscar-winning scribe Diablo Cody, whose “dialogue is iconic,” says the Suite Life of Zack & Cody star.

Signing on to play The Creature was also a no-brainer considering Sprouse’s longtime friendship with Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, who with Lisa Frankenstein makes her feature-length directorial debut.

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“Zelda and I are friends first and coworkers last,” says Sprouse. He and Newton, an “incredible comedian,” he adds, had also bonded prior to filming when he asked to do a photo shoot with the actress and her poodles.

Fans of Sprouse should not be surprised to see him continue to indulge his inner kid in future projects, especially coming off the success of Riverdale’s seven-season run.

“It's allowed me now the kind of financial stability and time to be able to sit and really ask myself, what is the relationship I want to have with an industry that I've been a part of since I was a little baby?” says the former child star. “What's the kind of work I want to do?”

One of Sprouse’s missions as he continues to make inroads in Hollywood: “I would love to see the return of the mid-budget movie as a profitable space for actors and creatives to interact in,” he says.

And, “in the meantime,” he adds, “try and have as much fun as possible doing the work.”

Lisa Frankenstein, which costars Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest and Carla Gugino, is in theaters now.

Sprouse will next star in the page-to-screen adaptation of Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All the Best, costarring Corey Fogelmanis, Alexandra Daddario, Miles Gutierrez and Amy Landecker.

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