What happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas? Where the former child star is now
What happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas? Where the former child star is now
Skyler Trepel, Skyler TrepelWed, September 23, 2026 at 9:57 PM UTC
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Jonathan Taylor Thomas in 1996Credit: ABC Photo Archives/getty
On Sept. 23, 2026, news broke that former child star Jonathan Taylor Thomas had been arrested two days earlier on charges of obstruction and public intoxication. He was released the following day. The report came as quite a surprise to fans who had seen little of the former child star in recent years.
Thomas was among the most popular teen idols of the 1990s. He rose to fame playing Randy Taylor, son of Tim Allen’s handyman TV host Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, on the mega-popular sitcom Home Improvement. At the height of his fame, however, he began stepping away from Hollywood, though he has made occasional returns — even reuniting with his former TV dad on ABC’s Last Man Standing.
Here’s everything to know about where Jonathan Taylor Thomas is today.
Who is Jonathan Taylor Thomas?
JTT as Randy Taylor, getting scolded by his parents (Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson)Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Thomas was born in Bethlehem, Pa. on Sept. 8, 1981. He got his start in modeling before landing a Burger King commercial when he was 8 years old. From there, the idea of turning acting into a real pursuit took hold.
“I asked my mom and got signed up for acting lessons,” Thomas told PEOPLE in 1994. “I just thought the whole idea of being on TV, being recognized and having a good time was interesting.”
The youngster landed a voice role as Spot in the American release of the English series The Adventures of Spot, based on the popular books. His first live-action television role was Kevin Brady, son of Greg, on the 1990 Brady Bunchspinoff The Bradys.
What is Jonathan Taylor Thomas famous for?
Simba, before all that terrible stuff happened to himCredit: Everett Collection
Thomas rose to fame as the mischievous Randy Taylor, the middle son on Home Improvement. That helped lead to his voice role of young Simba in The Lion King. The character’s conversations with Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and burgeoning friendship with Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) more or less immortalized JTT’s voice in pop culture.
He spent a chunk of time shuttling between two sets, shooting his hit sitcom one moment and recording Simba’s lines the next.
“I had to kind of go, ‘Oops! Time to be Randy’… Oops! Time to be Simba… You have to prepare yourself to become this totally different person. I mean, we’re not lions, right?” Thomas told PEOPLE at the time.“Simba’s like me… I just put my natural energy into it. Real curious, fun-loving, always getting into mischief.”
But his movie career was just getting started. He soon had his own starring vehicles, coheadlining Man of the House (1995) alongside Chevy Chase and Farrah Fawcett and playing none other than Tom Sawyer in Tom and Huck (1995). A few years later, he scored the lead role in the holiday road comedy I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1998).
Why did Jonathan Taylor Thomas leave acting?
JTT and Chevy Chase in ‘Man of the House’Credit: Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
At the height of his success, Thomas stepped away from the industry, appearing in just three episodes of Home Improvement’s final season.
“I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old,” he told PEOPLE in 2013. “I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.”
Thomas had few regrets about trading teen-idol fame for a more normal life. “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.”
He didn’t abandon acting entirely, however, making scattered guest appearances on Ally McBeal, Smallville, and 8 Simple Rules.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas in 2003Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Thomas studied philosophy and history at Harvard before spending his third year abroad at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. In 2010, he graduated from Columbia University. He said he enjoyed the transition to student life after spending years in the showbiz spotlight.
“To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool,” he said. “It was a novel experience for me.”
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EW caught up with him in 2011, around the time of his 30th birthday, to find out what he’d been up to.
“I’ve been going to school, and traveling quite a bit, getting to read a lot of books I’ve wanted to for quite some time,” he said. “I think at this point, I’d eventually like to work behind the camera. That’s not to say I would never act again, I’m not quite sure to be honest.”
Where is Jonathan Taylor Thomas now?
JTT in 2013Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Now in his 40s, Thomas lives a relatively quiet life these days, rarely appearing in public — though he apparently keeps in contact with some of his contemporaries and former costars. He and fellow teen star Danielle Fishel — famous for playing the brainy Topanga on Boy Meets World — dated when they were younger and are still friends.
As she told Complex in May 2025, the two had recently chatted about a very specific pair of Home Improvement-branded Nikes that had become something of a nostalgic collector’s item.
“For their 100th episode, they made those sneakers and I literally just texted Jonathan last night to see if he has them. He had no idea they had gone viral. He was like ‘What are you talking about?’” Fishel said. “He said, ‘Yeah, I think I have them. They’re in a box somewhere,’ so next on my agenda is to go raiding his attic.”
JTT (right) reunites with his old TV dad, Tim Allen (left)Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images
As for his TV mom, Patricia Richardson, she remains in touch with him as well — and says he still intends on a future in Hollywood, just not in front of the camera.
“He’s not really interested in acting,” Richardson told the Back to the Bestpodcast. “He wants to direct and write.”
Thomas has already gotten his feet wet in that regard, directing three episodes of Last Man Standing. He even busted out his acting chops for a handful of appearances on the show — including one episode with both Allen and Richardson.
In January 2025, Allen said Thomas visited the set of his current sitcom, Shifting Gears, and wouldn’t rule out a future JTT cameo. “Everything is a possibility… He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set,” Allen told Us Weekly. “He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement.”
In July 2026, Richardson shared a photo on Instagram in which she posed with Thomas and their costar Taran Noah Smith.
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Why was Jonathan Taylor Thomas arrested?
Thomas was detained by police on Sept. 21, 2026, in Westlake Village, Calif., and subsequently arrested on charges of obstruction and public intoxication. He was released the following day.
According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, authorities pulled alongside a vehicle that was stopped at an intersection despite a green light and blocking traffic. Deputies said the driver was “acting odd” and appeared to be intoxicated. Thomas, identified by authorities under his birth name, Jonathan Weiss, was a passenger in the car and also appeared intoxicated.
The statement claims that Thomas “continually exited the vehicle and approached the deputies, distracting them from their investigation.” It also alleges that Thomas “kicked a deputy in the stomach” when deputies attempted to detain him.
Thomas was then arrested, transported, and booked at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on those charges, while the driver, who was not identified, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The case will be submitted to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
