Jonathan Taylor Thomas Is 43! Inside His Quiet Life Since Stepping Away from the Spotlight

Mar. 15, 2025

Jonathan Taylor Thomas in 2013.Photo:Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

Whena host of originalLion Kingstarscame together in July to celebrate the iconic Disney film’s30th anniversary, castmate Jonathan Taylor Thomas was nowhere to be found.

After getting his start in 1990 at 9 years old on the seriesThe Bradys,Thomas was suddenly everywhere, voicing young Simba inThe Lion King,starring in family-friendly filmsMan of the HouseandTom and Huckand landing the role of middle Taylor child Randy onHome Improvementin 1991, a part he’d play for nearly 200 episodes. He was also on the cover of just about every tween magazine, fromBoptoTiger Beat.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas in 1994.Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection/Getty

“I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old,”he told PEOPLEin 2013. “I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.”

He attended Harvard, Columbia and St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, and relished his time as a student.

“To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool,” said Thomas. “It was a novel experience for me.”

Returning to Los Angeles, he focused on directing, writing scripts and taking advantage of his free time. “I watch a lot of movies, I hike, I stay up on shows and theater," he shared at the time, adding that he had “no regrets” about stepping away.

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Jonathan Taylor Thomas in 2013.GT/Star Max/FilmMagic

Born on Sept. 8, 1981, in Bethlehem, Pa., Thomas was not yet 5 when he moved to Sacramento with mom Claudine Weiss, dad Stephen Weiss (who was divorced from Claudine in 1991) and older brother Joel.

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The cast of ‘Home Improvement’ in 1992.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

In that 1994 interview, Claudine told PEOPLE that her son’s charisma was evident from an early age, “even when he was 18 months old. He seemed older than his age, and he was really outgoing,” she recalled. “Everyone kept saying, ‘Wow! Why don’t you get him on television.’ "

“I never took the fame too seriously,”he told PEOPLEin his 2013 chat. “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.”

source: people.com