Emma Stone may now be one of the most famous actors in Hollywood, with two Oscars to her name and seven nominations, but her first roles were far more modest.
Unbeknownst to many of her fans, the actor enjoyed a small voice role on the hit Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody as a pet dog – a part so minor even her co-star did not remember it.
Stone would have been approximately 17 years old when she landed the role of Ivana Priscilla Veronica Tipton-Fitzpatrick, the Pomeranian pet of teenage hotel heiress London Tipton, played by Brenda Song.
During an appearance on the Wildmen Podcast with Suite Life star Dylan Sprouse and Brendan Columbus, Song recalled introducing herself to Stone in person – failing to remember that they had, in fact, worked together previously.
“I run into Emma Stone,” recalled Song. “She goes, ‘No, no, we’ve met.’ She goes, ‘I was the voice of your dog!’”
The voice part arrived very early in Stone’s career, back when she was still credited by her real name Emily Stone.
Fans could not believe the connection, with many commenting to share their surprise at recognising the actor’s distinctly raspy voice in scenes of the hit Noughties show.
“Obsessed with this story,” said one person, with another writing: “That is amazing.”
“I had no idea,” said someone else, echoing the sentiments of dozens of others.
Elsewhere during the podcast episode, Song said she felt “underpaid and overworked” on the show, and recalled collapsing while filming a scene in a hot tub. “I remember just breathing really heavy, and my chest felt really hot,” she said. “I just went, ‘Am I having a panic attack?’ And then all of a sudden I remember stars and, gone.
Looking back on the collapse, Song said: “I think the only thing that was hard about that time was I feel like we were underpaid and overworked.
“But Disney did give us a platform to be sitting here right now. So it’s very hard to complain about certain things.”
She went on to say, however, that overall she had a “lovely time” at Disney.
The Independent has contacted a representative of Disney for comment.
The show – which ran for three seasons from 2005 to 2008 – proved a huge success for the channel and spawned a spin-off series titled The Suite Life on Deck and a film, The Suite Life Movie.