After his exit from acting, Jonathan Taylor Thomas has only been seen in public on very rare occasions.
Thomas got his start as a child star when he appeared on The Bradys at 9 years old. He went on to voice young Simba in The Lion King before winning Us over as Randy on Home Improvement, which also starred Tim Allen, Patricia Richardson, Taran Noah Smith, Zachery Ty Bryan, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning.
Despite becoming a household name, Thomas left the hit series, which ran from 1991 to 1999, to focus on school. He enrolled at Harvard University in 2000, where he studied philosophy and history. In 2010, Thomas graduated from the School of General Studies at Columbia University.
After making a few more TV appearances with roles on Smallville and 8 Simple Rules, Thomas ultimately made the decision to step back from the industry. Thomas briefly reunited with his TV dad Allen on screen for four episodes of Last Man Standing in 2013.
Thomas has since made very rare public appearances and has not taken on new projects in TV or movies. He has maintained a close bond with his Home Improvement parents — and even supported Allen on the set of his new show, Shifting Gears.
“He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set,” Allen told Us in January 2025. “He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement.”
Keep scrolling to see more from Thomas’ rare public appearances over the years:
2015
While Thomas hasn’t acted in movies since 2005, he did make a TV return for four episodes of Allen’s sitcom Last Man Standing. Thomas played John Baker, and he also directed three episodes.
2021
In photos obtained exclusively by Us, the actor was seen out in Hollywood vaping and walking his dogs. This June 2021 outing marked the first time Thomas was photographed in nearly eight years.
2023
Thomas was spotted near his Southern California residence in November 2023. He wore a tan Lacoste sweater over a green shirt and denim pants while sipping a drink and heading into a local convenience store.
2026
Richardson offered a surprise glimpse of former costars Thomas and Smith more than two decades after the Home Improvement series finale.
“My other boys ❤️,” Richardson wrote via Instagram in July 2026.
The actress previously confirmed she stayed in touch with Thomas, explaining on a 2024 episode of the “Back to the Best” podcast that “he’s not really interested in acting. He wants to direct and write.”
