Jonathan Taylor Thomas grew up in front of our eyes, transforming into a teen heartthrob by the end of his Home Improvement run — but, just like the ‘90s, we blinked and suddenly JTT was no longer in the limelight.
Thomas, who is affectionately known as JTT by his former teen and tween admirers, stepped away from acting in the early 2000s, but he’s never strayed far from fans’ minds.
“You can’t be trapped in this bubble called the acting industry,” Thomas told Premiere magazine in 1996 at the height of his fame. “The industry is neurotic and weird, and so when I go home and I play basketball with my friends, I’m not Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I’m just Jonathan. I don’t like hanging out with other actors and actresses.”
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Thomas was the ultimate child star, beginning his career voicing Spot on The Adventures of Spot from 1987 to 1993. He was just 6 years old when the animated series began. In 1990, Thomas made his small screen debut playing Kevin Brady, Greg Brady’s son, on The Bradys.
The following year, Thomas landed the role that would change his life and career: middle son, Randy Taylor, on Home Improvement. He starred alongside Tim Allen, who played dad Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, and Patricia Richardson, who portrayed his mom, Jill Taylor.
Zachery Ty Bryan played the eldest son, Brad Taylor, while Taran Noah Smith portrayed the youngest kid, Mark Taylor. Home Improvement ran for eight seasons, ending in 1999, and shot Thomas into superstardom.
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Despite being busy with the hit sitcom, Thomas didn’t rest on his laurels. Instead, he cemented himself as one of the biggest child stars of all time by taking on other iconic roles whenever possible.
Thomas voiced young Simba in 1994’s The Lion King, which is still one of his most memorable performances. He showed off his comedy chops in 1995’s Man of the House alongside Chevy Chase and transported viewers into Mark Twain’s famous novel in Tom and Huck that same year.
The actor turned up the heat in 1997 costarring with Devon Sawa and Scott Bairstow in Wild America.
“I had a great time on that [movie]. Jonathan was amazing to work with. I remember we did school together and we had tons of great times,” Sawa exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2021. “I spoke to [Jonathan] recently, within the last year or so. I don’t keep in touch with him as much as I should, I think. He’s a great dude.”
Thomas won over even more hearts in 1998 when he played Jake in I’ll Be Home for Christmas alongside Jessica Biel. (JTT stranded in the desert wearing a Santa suit is something we didn’t know we needed but still watch on repeat every holiday.)
In 1998, Thomas took a break from Hollywood to go to college. He even skipped out on the remainder of Home Improvement’s final season, missing the series finale.
“I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break,” he explained to People in 2013. “To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool. It was a novel experience for me.”
While his choice surprised his costars, Thomas was proud to attend Harvard and study philosophy and history. “I made such a good decision because had I stayed at the show and tried to do academically what I’m doing now, I would’ve, you know, put myself in an early grave,” he said at the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
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Thomas returned to his TV roots in the 2000s guest starring on Ally McBeal, Smallville, 8 Simple Rules and Veronica Mars. In 2006, he stepped away from acting in a more permanent capacity — briefly returning in 2011 to voice young Simba for The Lion King Read-Along.
During the first few years of his Hollywood hiatus, Thomas furthered his education, graduating from Columbia University in 2010.
In a surprise turn, Thomas reunited with his Home Improvement dad in 2013 for a cameo on Allen’s Last Man Standing. He played John Baker, a former colleague of Mike Baxter’s (Allen) eldest daughter, Kristin Baxter (Amanda Fuller).
“Man, you look familiar,” Allen’s Mike said during the episode, to which John smirked and explained, “Well, you know, I used to work with Kristin.” Mike replied, “That’s not it.”
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Thomas made two more cameos as John Baker in 2013 and 2014, before playing a separate character, Randy, for one episode of the sitcom in 2015. Thomas also directed three episodes of the show. Since then, he has been quiet on the acting front.
Thomas, however, was spotted in June 2021 walking his dogs in California. In photos obtained by Us, the actor was seen vaping while wearing jeans, a hoodie and sneakers with a New York Mets hat in a rare public moment.
Thomas was photographed again two years later near his Southern California residence, according to pictures obtained by Page Six in November 2023. He wore a tan Lacoste sweater over a green shirt and jeans as he sipped a drink walking into a local convenience store.
The following year, Thomas’ TV mom and longtime friend Richardson teased whether he had plans to step back in front of the camera. “Jonathan’s not really interested in acting, he wants to direct and write,” she revealed during a March 2024 episode of the “Back to the Best” podcast.
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Allen, meanwhile, exclusively told Us in January that he’s not ruling out Thomas making a cameo on his latest ABC sitcom, Shifting Gears. “Everything is a possibility,” Allen explained, noting, “He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set.”
Allen added that he’d happily share the screen with Thomas again. “He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement,” he gushed. “All of these are my kids and I’m kind of sick about this.”
