Jonathan Taylor Thomas: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 23:43, 26 August 2025

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{{short description|American actor and director (born 1981)}}

{{Infobox actor

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

| bgcolour =

{{Infobox person

| name = Jonathan Taylor Thomas

| image = Jonathan Taylor Thomas (3x4 cropped).jpg

| imagesizecaption = Thomas in 1998

| captionbirth_name = Jonathan Taylor Weiss

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|9|8}}

| birthname = Jonathan Taylor Weiss

| birth_place = [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania]], U.S.

| birthdate = {{birth date and age|1981|09|8}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|director}}

| ___location = {{flagicon|USA}}[[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania|Bethlehem]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[United States|USA]]

| years_active = 1990–2006, 2013–2016

| deathdate =

| education = [[Harvard University]]<br>[[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>

| deathplace =

[[University of St Andrews]]

| height =

| relatives = [[Jeff Weiss]] (uncle)

| othername =

| homepage = None

| notable role = '''Randy Taylor''' on<br>''[[Home Improvement]]'' (TV)

| academyawards =

| spouse =

}}

'''Jonathan Taylor Thomas''' (born '''Jonathan Taylor Weiss''' on [[September 8]], [[1981]] in [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[actor]] and former [[teen idol]].

'''Jonathan Taylor Thomas''' ({{ne|'''Weiss'''}}; born September 8, 1981)<ref name=vice>{{cite news |last1=Spencer |first1=Ashley |title=What Happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-happened-to-jonathan-taylor-thomas/ |date=July 16, 2019 |magazine=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |access-date=January 28, 2022}}</ref> is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying [[Randy Taylor]] on ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'' (1991–1998) and [[Pinocchio]] in the film ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'' (1996), and voicing young [[Simba]] in the animated film ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994).

==Biography==

===Early life= and education==

Thomas was born Jonathan Taylor Weiss on September 8, 1981, in [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania]] to Claudine (née Gonsalves) and Stephen Weiss,<ref name="Spotlight"/> and later moved to [[Sacramento, California]], and then to [[Los Angeles]].<ref name=vice/><ref>{{cite web |title=Helen E. Weiss |url=https://www.mcall.com/2001/02/12/helen-e-weiss/ |website=www.mcall.com}}</ref> He has one older brother named Joel (b. 1978) who works for [[Texas–Pan American Broncs]] as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team in [[Edinburg, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Joel Weiss - Assistant Coach - UTRGV Athletics |url=https://goutrgv.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/joel-weiss/339 |website=goutrgv.com}}</ref><ref name="Spotlight"/> Thomas's paternal uncle was playwright and actor [[Jeff Weiss]] (1940–2022).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1993-02-26-2900740-story.html|title=Walnutport Girl, 6, Already A New York Commuter ... Backstage| newspaper=[[The Morning Call]]| ___location=Allentown, Pennsylvania| date=February 26, 1993| access-date=December 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=JEFF WEISS (1940–2022) |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/jeff-weiss-1940-2022-89312 |access-date=September 26, 2022 |work=Artforum |date=September 26, 2022}}</ref> Thomas has Pennsylvania Dutch and Portuguese ancestry.<ref name=thomas>{{cite web |url=http://www.hiarchive.co.uk/articles/jttyours.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929023034/http://www.hiarchive.co.uk/articles/jttyours.php |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |title=Questions and answers w/ Jonathan Taylor Thomas |magazine=[[Bop (magazine)|Bop]] |date=September 29, 2007 |access-date=December 5, 2011}}</ref><ref name=yas>{{cite news |last=Pacheco |first=Patrick |title=Off-Off-Broadway's king goes Public |newspaper=[[Newsday]] |___location=Melville, NY |date=April 6, 1986 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/100067693.html?dids=100067693:100067693&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+06%2C+1986&author=By+Patrick+Pacheco&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=Off-Off-Broadway%27s+king+goes+Public&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111073654/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/100067693.html?dids=100067693:100067693&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+06,+1986&author=By+Patrick+Pacheco&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=Off-Off-Broadway's+king+goes+Public&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 11, 2013|access-date=August 29, 2010}}</ref> His parents divorced when he was 10.<ref name="Spotlight">{{cite web |title=Jonathan Taylor Thomas Is 43! Inside His Quiet Life Since Stepping Away from the Spotlight |url=https://people.com/jonathan-taylor-thomas-is-43-quiet-life-since-stepping-away-from-the-spotlight-8707971 |website=people.com}}</ref>

In 2000, Thomas enrolled at [[Harvard University]], where he studied philosophy and history and spent his third year abroad at the [[University of St Andrews]] in Scotland.<ref>{{cite news |first=Alana |last=Daley |url=http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/article.cfm?section=arts&articleid=687&month=9&day=22&year=2005 |title=Whatever happened to: child star Jonathan Taylor Thomas? |newspaper=[[UWO Gazette|The Gazette]] |___location=London, Ontario |date=September 22, 2005 |access-date=December 5, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319144415/http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/article.cfm?section=arts&articleid=687&month=9&day=22&year=2005 |archive-date=March 19, 2012}}</ref> In 2010, he graduated from the [[Columbia University School of General Studies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gs.columbia.edu/notable-alumni |title=Notable Alumni |website=Columbia School of General Stucies |access-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715014713/https://gs.columbia.edu/notable-alumni |archive-date=July 15, 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Thomas was born in [[Pennsylvania]] in the state's [[Lehigh Valley]] region, to Stephen Weiss and Claudine Taylor, who divorced in 1991; he has [[German American|German]] [[Jewish Americans|Jewish]] and [[Portuguese Americans|Portuguese]] ancestry.<ref name=thomas>[http://www.hiarchive.co.uk/articles/jttyours.php] questions and answers w/ Jonathan Taylor Thomas; "I am, like, Heinz 57! I mean, I'm a mix of everything! But I'm part Portuguese. That's where I get the olive skin. I tan really easily."</ref> "He has a brother, Joel Thomas Weiss, whose middle name he adopted as his pseudonym, in order to avoid confusion with an existing actor named Jonathan Weiss.

==Career==

In 1986, Thomas moved with his family to [[Roseville, California]], and was later cast in a [[Burger King]] commercial at the age of eight. Earlier, in 1987, he was cast as the voice of Spot the dog, the lovable children's book character, in the Disney series ''The Adventures of Spot''.

===Television===

Thomas began his television career in 1990, playing the role of Kevin Brady, the son of [[Characters of The Brady Bunch#Greg Brady|Greg Brady]], on ''[[The Bradys]]'', a spin-off of the 1970s TV show ''[[The Brady Bunch]]''. In 1991, Thomas appeared in three episodes of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]'s [[sketch comedy]] series ''[[In Living Color]]''. That same year, he was cast as middle son Randy Taylor on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s [[sitcom]] ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]''. Despite looking much younger, in reality, Thomas was a month older than [[Zachery Ty Bryan]] who played his elder brother Brad. Thomas remained with ''Home Improvement'' well into his teenage years but left the show in 1998 to focus on academics, and was only involved in three episodes of the final season.

Since departing ''Home Improvement'', Thomas has acted only occasionally. In early 2004, he had a small guest role on ''[[8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter]]'', another ABC sitcom, and appeared in the [[The WB Television Network|WB]]'s ''[[Smallville]]'' in 2002 and 2004. In 2005, Thomas appeared in [[UPN]]'s high school detective drama ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' and was also featured on ''[[The E! True Hollywood Story]]''{{'}}s episode on ''Home Improvement''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jttarchive.net/2005/12/26/home-improvement-the-e-true-hollywood-story/ |title=Home Improvement |website=E! True Hollywood Story |date=December 26, 2005}}</ref>

His family later moved to [[Southern California]].

On March 22, 2013, Thomas guest-starred on the second-season finale of his third ABC sitcom, ''[[Last Man Standing (American TV series)|Last Man Standing]]'', and again in the fourth episode of the third season on October 11, 2013, reuniting with [[Tim Allen]], his TV father from ''Home Improvement''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/last-man-standing-jonathan-taylor-thomas_n_4079276 |title=Jonathan Taylor Thomas Returns To 'Last Man Standing' (VIDEO)| website=HuffPost |date=October 10, 2013 |access-date=December 27, 2021}}</ref> On January 10, 2015, he had a small cameo on the twelfth episode of the fourth season of ''Last Man Standing'', reuniting with both of his TV parents from ''Home Improvement'', Tim Allen and [[Patricia Richardson]].<ref name= "Returns to Last">{{cite news |url=https://people.com/tv/jonathan-taylor-thomas-returns-to-last-man-standing/ |title=Jonathan Taylor Thomas Returns to Last Man Standing| first=Lynette |last=Rice |magazine=People |date=January 9, 2015 |access-date=March 5, 2019}}</ref>

===Career===

Thomas directed three episodes of ''Last Man Standing'' between 2013 and 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.looper.com/417743/the-transformation-of-jonathan-taylor-thomas-from-home-improvement-to-now/ |title=The Transformation Of Jonathan Taylor Thomas From Home Improvement To Now |date=May 21, 2021 |website=[[Looper (website)|Looper]] |first=Helen A. |last=Lee |access-date=October 14, 2024}}</ref>

As a child, Thomas played Randy Taylor on the popular television show ''[[Home Improvement]]''. He went on to voice Young Simba in [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]'s ''[[The Lion King]]'' and [[Pinocchio]] in ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]''. He remained with ''Home Improvement'' well into his teenage years, being written out of the show in [[1998 in television|1998]]. He served as guest timekeeper at [[WrestleMania XI]] in [[1995]].

Since 2017, Thomas has served as a national board member of the media labor union [[SAG-AFTRA]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2017-08-25 |title=Martin Sheen Receives Most Votes for SAG-AFTRA National Board |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/martin-sheen-sag-aftra-national-board-1202538774/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

As Thomas got older, he earned a reputation as a teen heartthrob and was a leading cover boy on teen magazines. In [[1998]], he starred in the [[Christmas]] comedy ''[[I'll Be Home for Christmas (film)|I'll Be Home for Christmas]]'', which, although heavily hyped as his break into movies, was actually a commercial flop. He also appeared in the movies ''[[Man of the House (1995 film)|Man of the House]]'', ''[[Tom and Huck]]'', ''[[Wild America (film)|Wild America]]'', ''[[Common Ground (film)|Common Ground]]'' and ''[[Speedway Junky]]''. He had a guest role on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[sitcom]] ''[[8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter]]'' in early [[2004 in television|2004]], and appeared in the [[The WB Television Network|WB]]'s ''[[Smallville (TV series)|Smallville]]'' in [[2002 in television|2002]] and [[2004 in television|2004]]. In [[2005 in television|2005]], he had a guest role in [[UPN]]'s high school detective drama ''[[Veronica Mars]]'', and was also featured on ''[[The E! True Hollywood Story]]'''s show on ''Home Improvement''.

===Film===

In [[2006 in video gaming|2006]], he provided voice audio as the young [[Simba]] (via stock audio from ''[[The Lion King]]'') in the [[PlayStation 2]] video game ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'', developed by [[Square Enix]]. He also played a guest cameo role as Missing Kid #2 in the slasher flick ''[[Rest Stop (film)|Rest Stop]]'', reprising his role as Randy Taylor from prior "[[Home Improvement]]" fame.

Thomas appeared in many films during and after his run on ''Home Improvement''. He had a few roles as a voice actor in his child years, including [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]'s animated feature ''[[The Lion King]]'', in which he voiced the protagonist [[Simba]] as a cub.

He also appeared in live-action films. Among the ones he starred in are those from Disney: ''[[Man of the House (1995 film)|Man of the House]]'', ''[[Tom and Huck]]'', and ''[[I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998 film)|I'll Be Home for Christmas]]''. Other live-action films starring Thomas are an adaptation of ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'' (in which he played and voiced the titular character), ''[[Wild America (film)|Wild America]]'', ''[[Speedway Junky]]'', and ''[[Walking Across Egypt]]''.

===Personal life===

==Filmography==

Thomas attended [[Harvard University]] and the [[University of St. Andrews]] in [[Scotland]] as a visiting student. He is a vocal opponent of [[abortion]] and has been very active in various [[pro-life]] activities and causes. He has been a strict vegetarian from a young age.

===Film===

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

| rowspan=2| 1994

|''{{sortname|The|Lion King}}''

| [[Simba| Young Simba]]

| Voice role

|-

|''[[Pom Poko]]''

|Shoukichi

|Voice role<br/>(2005 Disney dub)

|-

| rowspan=2| 1995

|''[[Man of the House (1995 film) |Man of the House]]''

|Ben Archer

|

|-

|''[[Tom and Huck]]''

|[[Tom Sawyer]]

|

|-

|1996

|''{{sortname|The|Adventures of Pinocchio|The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)}}''

|[[Pinocchio]]

| Voice role

|-

|1997

|''[[Wild America (film)|Wild America]]''

|[[Marty Stouffer|Marshall Stouffer]]

|

|-

| rowspan=3| 1998

|''[[I Woke Up Early The Day I Died|I Woke Up Early the Day I Died]]''

|Boy at Beach

|

|-

|''[[I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998 film)|I'll Be Home for Christmas]]''

|Jake Wilkinson

|

|-

|''The Emperor's New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale''

|The Imperial Prince

| Voice role

|-

|rowspan=2| 1999

|''[[Speedway Junky]]''

|Steve

|

|-

|''[[Walking Across Egypt]]''

|Wesley Benfield

|

|-

| rowspan=3| 2000

|''[[Common Ground (2000 film) |Common Ground]]''

|Tobias Anderson

|

|-

|''[[The Tangerine Bear|The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas!]]''

|Tangie

|Voice role;<br/>[[Television film|TV movie]]

|-

|''Timothy Tweedle the First Christmas Elf''

|Timothy Tweedle

| rowspan=2| TV movie

|-

|2001

|''An American Town''

|Rafe

|-

| rowspan=2| 2005

|''Tilt-A-Whirl''

|Customer #3

|[[Short film]]

|-

|''[[Thru the Moebius Strip]]''

|Prince Ragis

| Voice role

|}

===Television===

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

|1989–1993

|''{{sortname|The|Adventures of Spot|Spot the Dog#Television}}''

|Spot

| Voice role;<br/>26 episodes; (1989–1993 American version)

|-

|1990

|''{{sortname|The|Bradys}}''

|Kevin Brady

|5 episodes

|-

|1991

|''[[In Living Color]]''

|[[Macaulay Culkin]]

|1 episode

|-

|1991–1998

|''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]''

|[[Randy Taylor]]

|179 episodes

|-

|1994

|''{{sortname|The|Itsy Bitsy Spider|Itsy Bitsy Spider (TV series)}}''

|George

| Voice role;<br/>Episode: "Spider Sense"

|-

|1996

|''{{sortname|The|Oz Kids}}''

| Scarecrow Jr.

|Voice role

|-

| 2000

|''[[Ally McBeal]]''

|Chris Emerson

|Episode: "Do You Wanna Dance?"

|-

| 2000–2001

|''{{sortname|The|Wild Thornberrys}}''

|Tyler Tucker

| Voice role;<br/>6 episodes

|-

|2002–2004

|''[[Smallville]]''

|Ian Randall

| 2 episodes

|-

|2003

|''{{sortname|The|Simpsons}}''

|Luke Stetson

|Voice role;<br/>Episode: "[[Dude, Where's My Ranch?]]"

|-

|2004

|''[[8 Simple Rules]]''

|Jeremy

|3 episodes

|-

|2005

|''[[Veronica Mars]]''

|Ben

|Episode: "[[Weapons of Class Destruction]]"

|-

|2013–2015

|''[[Last Man Standing (American TV series)|Last Man Standing]]''

|John Baker / Randy

| 4 episodes

|}

===Video games===

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable"|Notes

|-

|1996

|''{{sortname|The|Adventures of Pinocchio|nolink=1}}''

|Human Pinocchio

|

|-

|2006

|''{{sortname||[[Kingdom Hearts II]]|nolink=2}}''

|Young Simba

|Archive audio

|}

===Production credits===

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Title

! Position

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

|2006

|''The Extra''

| rowspan=2| Director

|Short film

|-

|2013–2016

|''[[Last Man Standing (American TV series)|Last Man Standing]]''

|3 episodes

|}

==Awards and nominations==

===Wins===

* 1994 – [[Young Artist Awards]] for Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series (''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'')

* 1996 – [[ShoWest|ShoWest Convention]]: ShoWest Award for Young Star of the Year

* 1997 – [[Young Artist Awards]] for Best Performance in a Voiceover – Young Artist (''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'')

* 1998 – [[Kids' Choice Awards]]: Blimp Award for Favorite Television Actor (''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'')

* 1999 – [[Kids' Choice Awards]]: Hall of Fame Award

===Nominations===

* 1993 – [[Young Artist Awards]] for Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series (''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'')

* 1995 – [[Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films]]: Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor (''[[The Lion King]]'')

* 1995 – [[Young Artist Awards]] for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Voiceover – TV or Movie (''[[The Lion King]]'')

* 1996 – [[Young Artist Awards]] for Best Young Leading Actor – Feature Film (''[[Tom and Huck]]'')

* 1996 – [[Kids' Choice Awards]]: Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actor (''[[Tom and Huck]]'')

* 1997 – [[Kids' Choice Awards]]: Blimp Award for Favorite Television Actor (''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'')

* 1997 – [[Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films]]: Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor (''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'')

* 1997 – YoungStar Awards for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy TV Series (''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'')

* 1997 – YoungStar Awards for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film (''[[Tom and Huck]]'')

* 1998 – YoungStar Awards for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy TV Series (''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'')

* 1999 – [[Kids' Choice Awards]]: Blimp Award for Favorite TV Actor (''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'')

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

<references/>

==External links==

{{Commons category}}

* {{imdb name | id = 0001795 | name = Jonathan Taylor Thomas }}

* {{IMDb name}}

*[http://www.jttonline.co.uk Jonathan Taylor Thomas online]]

{{Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Star}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 births|Thomas, Jonathan Taylor]]}}

[[Category:Living1981 people|Thomas, Jonathan Taylorbirths]]

[[Category:AmericanLiving child actors|Thomas, Jonathan Taylorpeople]]

[[Category:20th-century American filmmale actors|Thomas, Jonathan Taylor]]

[[Category:21st-century American televisionmale actors|Thomas, Jonathan Taylor]]

[[Category:AmericanAlumni voiceof actors|Thomas,the JonathanUniversity Taylorof St Andrews]]

[[Category:BradyAmerican Bunchmale child actors|Thomas, Jonathan Taylor]]

[[Category:DisneyAmerican voicemale film actors|Thomas, Jonathan Taylor]]

[[Category:Jewish American actors|Thomas,male Jonathantelevision Tayloractors]]

[[Category:Kids'American Choicemale Awardsvoice winners|Thomas, Jonathan Tayloractors]]

[[Category:KingdomAmerican Heartspeople voiceof actors|Thomas,Pennsylvania JonathanDutch Taylordescent]]

[[Category:PeopleAmerican frompeople theof LehighPortuguese Valley|Thomas, Jonathan Taylordescent]]

[[Category:Chaminade College Preparatory School (California) alumni]]

[[Category:Portuguese-Americans|Thomas, Jonathan Taylor]]

[[Category:VeronicaColumbia MarsUniversity actors|Thomas,School Jonathanof TaylorGeneral Studies alumni]]

[[Category:AmericanHarvard vegans|Thomas,University Jonathan Tayloralumni]]

[[Category:Male actors from New York (state)]]

[[Category:Male actors from Pennsylvania]]

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