With a face no nineties kid could forget and his poster on every teen and pre-teen bedroom wall, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, also known as JTT, is an actor who made a significant impact at the height of his fame. He was known as a teenage heartthrob, and his meteoric rise to success seemed to assure him a lifelong career. Yet since his departure from the iconic show Home Improvement, Thomas seems to have shied away from the spotlight. So what gives? What happened to the focus of our teenage dreams?
Thomas is probably most recognized for his role as “Randy Taylor” in the sitcom Home Improvement. The show was a massive success, and Thomas remained on the show well into his teenage years. Yet following his departure from the show, despite fan’s predictions, he did not rocket to a new level of superstardom. So where did he go?
What was Jonathan Taylor Thomas best known for?
Thomas began his career in the 1990 series The Bradys, which was a spin-off of the extremely popular 1970s sitcom The Brady Bunch. The following year, in 1991, he was cast in the sketch comedy series In Living Color, though he only appeared in three episodes. Then JTT got his big break by landing the role of “Randy Taylor” on the soon-to-be hit show Home Improvement, starring Tim Allen. The series launched in 1991 and went for eight seasons. As the series grew, so did JTT’s recognition.
Thomas’ growing fame eventually landed him the coveted voice role of Young Simba in Disney’s The Lion King. By the late nineties, Taylor was constantly running back and forth between the set of Home Improvement (which ran until 1999) and every other film he had booked. Some of these films include Man of The House, Tom and Huck, The Adventures of Pinocchio, and I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Let’s just say he was one busy guy.
JTT’s Home Improvement departure
Things seemed to be going well for the young Hollywood heartthrob. He had a prime role on a hit show, was internationally known, and seemed to have an entire career laid out before him. Yet in 1998, Thomas made a decision that left a lot of his fans confused. He announced he was leaving Home Improvement to focus on his education. The public was devastated. Many felt that they had watched him grow into a teenager, and his younger fans were especially were disappointed by his departure. By the eighth and final season of the show, he had been reduced to a guest star, appearing only a few times. His decision not to return for the series finale fueled rumors that he had left the show on sour terms.
The New York Post had reported in 1999 that his co-stars Patricia Richardson and Tim Allen were upset at Thomas’ departure from Home Improvement. Richardson(who recently starred in an episode of NCIS) said to TV Guide that his exit left a “pretty sore point around here,” while Allen was “confused” about him not returning for the finale, especially since he booked other roles while still in school. “I was a little confused at why he didn’t want to do this whole year. He said it was about going to school, but then he did some films. Did he want to do films? Did he want to go to school?”
It certainly sounds like Thomas’ departure left some sour grapes around the Home Improvement set. Yet Thomas explained to PEOPLE in 2013 why he made the decision to leave the show, admitting he needed a break, and time to pursue other goals.
“I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, travel, and have a bit of a break. I never took the fame too seriously. It was a great period in my life, but it doesn’t define me. When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink. I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers.”
Makes sense to us.
What is Jonathan Taylor up to now?
Thomas said he wanted to focus on his education, and focus on it he did! He attended three top universities during his time away from his heavy acting schedule; Harvard, St. Andrews, and Columbia University. He graduated with an advanced degree in General Studies at Columbia University in 2010. In the 2010s, he switched gears and took the director’s seat behind the camera, directing three episodes of Last Man Standing. Other than that, JTT tends to keep his private life, exactly that. He has no social media accounts, and hasn’t even been photographed in almost a decade. Then in 2021, Page Six announced that the former heartthrob had been photographed for the first time in eight years!
JTT also reunited with his former father figure from Home Improvement, Tim Allen, on his show Last Man Standing, over four episodes that aired between 2013-2015.
Another former Home Improvement costar Zachery Bryan, who played “Brad Taylor” on the show, did make a little announcement as to what he and his former costar might be up to with another former child actor you may know.
Taylor is reportedly working with his former co-star Zachary Bryan, and Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin on a new project. Bryan revealed this in a chat with Access, claiming they are “moving forward” with the project. “We’re in talks of collaborating with Macauley Culkin and his Bunny Ears brand … we kind of came up with a concept, and presented it to them, and it looks like we’re moving forward.”
Also, although Thomas hasn’t done any movies since the late 90’s, he still sits as a Board Member on the SAG-AFTRA Union (The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). His former costar Richardson reports that he recognizes the importance of having young members of the acting community represented. Taylor seems to be an advocate for young voices in the acting community. He has not released any statements around the writing or actors strike, but it is safe to assume things are probably happening behind the scenes.
Other than that, fairly little is known about the 40-year-old former child star. With no social media accounts and no headline splashes, we have to rely on tidbits from former costars and friends to let us know what the ’90s icon is up to. It’s clear he is taking his private time seriously, and is getting all the friends, family, and education time he needs.