'Why I walked away from fame': Jonathan Taylor Thomas on turning his back on Hollywood


As Randy Taylor on hit 90s show Home Improvement, he was a heartthrob at the height of his fame.

But Jonathan Taylor Thomas gave it all up and walked away from the spotlight.

Now 31-year-old says he has no regrets about choosing the life of an average teenager over Hollywood fame.

Not a fan of the spotlight: Jonathan Taylor Thomas is happy he ditched fame after finishing work on comedy TV series Home Improvement in 1999

Not a fan of the spotlight: Jonathan Taylor Thomas is happy he ditched fame after finishing work on comedy TV series Home Improvement in 1999

He told People magazine: ‘I'd been going nonstop since I was eight years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.’

During his 10-year period out of the limelight, he enjoyed life as a student, taking part in courses at America’s Harvard and Columbia Colleges as well as St. Andrew's University in Scotland.

Jonathan confessed that simple things, such as being surrounded by people his own age every day as opposed to getting involved in the Los Angeles clubbing circuit, were thrilling experiences in themselves.

Reminder of his on screen days: He recently filmed the College Girl episode of Last Man Standing with Tim Allen

Reminder of his on screen days: He recently filmed the College Girl episode of Last Man Standing with Tim Allen

He continued: ‘To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool. It was a novel experience for me.’

Now his is settled back in California, his plan is to stay on the other side of the camera by directing and writing scripts.

But having earned good money as a child star, he is also taking advantage of his free time.

‘I watch a lot of movies, I hike, I stay up on shows and theatre,’ he revealed. ‘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.’

Jonathan is gearing up to make a return to TV, reuniting with Tim Allen, who played his television father up until the age of 16 on sitcom Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999.

The cast of Home Improvement in 1995: (Going clockwise from left) Patricia Richardson, Tim Allen, Earl Hindman,  Richard Karn, Taran Noah Smith,  Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Zachery Ty Bryan

The cast of Home Improvement in 1995: (Going clockwise from left) Patricia Richardson, Tim Allen, Earl Hindman,  Richard Karn, Taran Noah Smith,  Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Zachery Ty Bryan

His College Girl episode of Last Man Standing – which airs in the United States on Friday at 8pm on ABC - sees him on the small screen for the first time since Veronica Mars in 2005.

 


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