Jonathan Taylor Thomas was one of the 1990s' biggest teen idols thanks to a series of hit
movies and shows. Why has he been missing from Hollywood ever since? We've got all the details.
From the very beginning, Thomas was not a huge fan of the culture within Hollywood. He enjoyed
a normal childhood in Pennsylvania before he began acting, far from the glamour and scandal of the
entertainment industry. As a kid, he loved playing outdoors, fly-fishing, and spending time with his
friends. In short, his upbringing couldn't have been more different than his life in Hollywood.
"Today in the cafeteria, we made Bobby Deavers laugh so hard, he shot peas out out his nose."
Thomas was lucky enough to hold on to his friends from childhood
even as his career took off — hanging out with them when he wasn't working gave him a sense
of normalcy he lacked when he was on set. In an interview with Premiere magazine in 1996,
the young actor described Hollywood as, quote, "neurotic and weird," and said he craved the
normalcy of going home and playing with his friends. With that in mind, it's no surprise
that Thomas eventually decided that it was time to pack up and leave Hollywood behind.
With impressive credits like "Home Improvement" and "The Lion King" to his name,
Thomas had already assembled a very impressive resume at a shockingly young age. But for a
newbie actor, especially one still making his way through childhood, working so hard came at
a high price. While there are legal limits to how long child actors are allowed to work in a day,
Thomas still felt overtaxed. Between acting, going to school, preparing for new roles,
and trying to maintain some kind of social life, the young talent was busy at all
hours of the day. This intense workload eventually started to affect his health:
He often showed up to work on "Home Improvement" feeling under the weather, simply because he
was dealing with so much stress at such a young age. As he explained to People magazine in 1994:
"You have school, friends, learning your lines and making sure your performance is up to speed.
I can't tell you how many shows I've done with full-blown migraine headaches."
It's clear that Thomas rarely had a moment to himself during this time in his life.
Coming down with migraines at the age of 12 due to extreme burnout definitely seems
to have played a role in discouraging Thomas from continuing to act full-time as an adult.
Thomas' status as one of the biggest teen idols of his era might seem enviable.
But attracting that level of constant, insatiable public attention isn't all
it's cracked up to be, as Thomas told the New York Times in 1997:
”It's sometimes distracting to look over and see a whole group of girls staring and giggling.
You are a part of their life, and there is a lot that is owed them. But it's difficult because you
want to make everyone happy, but if you try to do that, you're setting yourself up for failure.”
In a 1998 interview with Conan O'Brien, Thomas said that being approached by fans at
inopportune times could get awkward. He went on to recount a particularly uncomfortable encounter,
in which an eager fan approached him in St. Patrick's Cathedral. When O'Brien
asked him if he was still going by the nickname "JTT," Thomas replied,
"No, I'm over that, I've always been over that."
As an adult, he prefers to live a very private life,
which is a luxury he certainly did not have when he was younger.
Thomas became very successful at a young age due to his natural talent for acting.
But even during those years when it seemed like he was absolutely destined to continue
acting into adulthood, Thomas remained open-minded about pursuing other career paths.
At the height of his fame, Thomas was clear-eyed on the reality of his life options as a child
star. In his 1996 conversation with Premiere, he discussed one of his most
impressively mature beliefs: Namely, that the reason so many child actors struggle to deal
with the demands of the industry as they get older is because they have never considered
that acting might not be the right career choice for them after all. Even in 1996,
with his career at its apex, Thomas resisted putting all of his eggs in one basket. In fact,
he believed that doing so would mean courting failure. As he told the magazine at the time:
He didn't want to base his life on, quote, "one thing."
Thomas always worked hard in school, just as he worked hard when he was acting. But eventually,
he realized that it was becoming downright impossible to balance both — especially while
holding himself to a high standard. Ultimately, Thomas decided that he
needed to take some time away from acting in order to finish his high school education.
When Thomas came to this realization, he was still working on "Home Improvement." The
popular young actor knew that leaving would be a disappointment to the show's legions of fans,
but he had to make the best choice for his future. So, in 1998, Thomas left the sitcom for good.
After Thomas graduated from high school and set his sights on college, he reflected on
his choice — and realized that he had absolutely made the right call. During an interview at the
1999 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, he said he worried he would have wound up in, quote,
"early grave" if he had tried to keep up the balance between work and school.
Although Thomas' reasons for skipping out on "Home Improvement" were understandable,
his co-stars still felt disappointed by his sudden exit, particularly when the young actor refused
to return for even cameo appearances as the series reached its end. Thomas' choice to focus on school
rather than coming back to say goodbye to the show in its finale became a particularly tender
spot for his colleagues, and it seems like he may have burned some professional bridges as a result.
As Patricia Richardson, who played Thomas' mom Jill Taylor on the show,
told TV Guide at the time:
"It's a pretty sore point around here. I think there were a lot
of bad feelings all along. I don't think it's a good idea that he didn't show up,
but I don't always think he gets the best advice."
"Home Improvement" star Tim Allen was also upset by Thomas' refusal to return for the show's
highly anticipated finale episode, particularly when Thomas reportedly seemed irritated to be
asked. Allen later told TV Guide that Thomas was, quote, "a little miffed" at him about the split,
particularly when the older star began complaining publicly about his former TV son's refusal to
participate for much of the show's final season. The pair eventually mended fences,
though, and Thomas appeared as a guest star on Allen's later sitcom, "Last Man Standing."
"Mike Baxter."
"Hey."
"Man, you look familiar."
Thomas could have probably continued acting full-time after finishing high school,
had he been interested in doing so. But instead, he chose to go down a different path,
one that involved far less time as the teen heartthrob known as "JTT."
Instead of getting back in front of the camera, Thomas decided to pursue higher education. He had
always worked hard to earn good grades in school, even as he juggled homework with time on set.
Suddenly, he had the opportunity to simply focus on academics without juggling acting as well.
Thomas' college years were richly multifaceted: He enrolled in Harvard, and was eventually able
to study abroad at St. Andrew's University in Scotland. Later on, he ended up at Columbia
University, where he graduated from the School of General Studies in 2010.
Thomas thoroughly enjoyed his time in college,
surrounded by more books than fans, and later called it, quote,
"a novel experience" after all that time spent on movie and TV sets in his childhood.
There's no denying that Thomas was a major teen idol. But time marches on,
and every teen idol has to grow up at some point. As many of them discover,
early fame doesn't always translate to success in one's adult years.
Though his star power didn't necessarily diminish, Thomas found it hard to transition
from wholesome family entertainment to more adult roles as he aged. Compounding this
problem was the fact that while Thomas' fans weren't necessarily ready for him to grow up,
he was looking to take on more challenging roles that took him out of his comfort zone. However,
he was also at peace with the idea of moving on to something new, if going in a different
artistic direction wasn't in the cards for him. As he told the New York Times in 1997:
”I would like to do edgier material, because that's what seems to be respected.
Maybe this will last forever. Acting will get you to a lot of places,
but there are a multitude of things I can do later on. Acting is just one of them.”
Though it might seem otherwise to the casual observer, Thomas did not actually leave acting
after exiting "Home Improvement" and enrolling in college. He has occasionally appeared in movies,
albeit minor ones, and even voiced Tyler Tucker for a short run of
episodes on the hit Nickelodeon cartoon "The Wild Thornberrys."
Although Thomas has never again been a regular on a TV series after his time
on "Home Improvement" came to an end, he has continued doing a wide variety of guest spots.
You might have spotted Thomas on shows like"8 Simple Rules," "Smallville," or
"Veronica Mars." "Home Improvement" fans were particularly thrilled to see Thomas
appear alongside his TV dad Tim Allen on four episodes of "Last Man Standing,"
and he also worked behind the camera to direct episodes of the series.
However, Thomas has not acted since 2015, when he wrapped up this short role,
so maybe his days in front of the camera really are done for good this time. That said,
he is still reportedly interested in work behind the scenes, including more directing,
writing a pilot with former "Home Improvement" co-star Zachery Ty Bryan, and producing a
show called "Master of Ceremonies" about the Chippendales dance revue scene of the 1980s.
With all that in mind, perhaps we haven't seen the last of Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
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