Jonathan Taylor Thomas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
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Thomas in 1998
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| Born |
Jonathan Taylor Weiss
September 8, 1981 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Education | Harvard University Columbia University (BA) University of St Andrews |
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| Years active | 1990–2006, 2013–2016 |
| Relatives | Jeff Weiss (uncle) |
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (né Weiss; born September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on Home Improvement and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and Pinocchio in New Line Cinema's 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio.
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Early life and education
Thomas was born on September 8, 1981, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Sacramento, California, and then to Los Angeles. Thomas's uncle was playwright and actor Jeff Weiss (1940–2022). Thomas has Pennsylvania Dutch and Portuguese ancestry.
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. In 2010, he graduated from the Columbia University School of General Studies.
Career
Television
Thomas began his television career in 1990, playing the role of Kevin Brady, the son of 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's sketch comedy series In Living Color. That same year, he was cast as middle son Randy Taylor on ABC's sitcom 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 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.
On March 22, 2013, Thomas guest-starred on the second-season finale of his third ABC sitcom, 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. 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.
Thomas directed three episodes of Last Man Standing between 2013 and 2016.
Since 2017, Thomas has served as a national board member of the media labor union SAG-AFTRA.
Film
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 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, Tom and Huck, and I'll Be Home for Christmas. Other live-action films starring Thomas are an adaptation of The Adventures of Pinocchio (in which he played and voiced the titular character), Wild America, Speedway Junky, and Walking Across Egypt.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Lion King | Young Simba | Voice role |
| Pom Poko | Shoukichi | Voice role (2005 Disney dub) |
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| 1995 | Man of the House | Ben Archer | |
| Tom and Huck | Tom Sawyer | ||
| 1996 | The Adventures of Pinocchio | Pinocchio | Voice role |
| 1997 | Wild America | Marshall Stouffer | |
| 1998 | I Woke Up Early the Day I Died | Boy at Beach | |
| 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 | |
| 1999 | Speedway Junky | Steve | |
| Walking Across Egypt | Wesley Benfield | ||
| 2000 | Common Ground | Tobias Anderson | |
| The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas! | Tangie | Voice role; TV movie |
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| Timothy Tweedle the First Christmas Elf | Timothy Tweedle | TV movie | |
| 2001 | An American Town | Rafe | |
| 2005 | Tilt-A-Whirl | Customer #3 | Short film |
| Thru the Moebius Strip | Prince Ragis | Voice role |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1993 | The Adventures of Spot | Spot | Voice role; 26 episodes; (1989–1993 American version) |
| 1990 | The Bradys | Kevin Brady | 5 episodes |
| 1991 | In Living Color | Macaulay Culkin | 1 episode |
| 1991–1998 | Home Improvement | Randy Taylor | 179 episodes |
| 1994 | The Itsy Bitsy Spider | George | Voice role; Episode: "Spider Sense" |
| 1996 | The Oz Kids | Scarecrow Jr. | Voice role |
| 2000 | Ally McBeal | Chris Emerson | Episode: "Do You Wanna Dance?" |
| 2000–2001 | The Wild Thornberrys | Tyler Tucker | Voice role; 6 episodes |
| 2002–2004 | Smallville | Ian Randall | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | The Simpsons | Luke Stetson | Voice role; 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 | John Baker / Randy | 4 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Adventures of Pinocchio | Human Pinocchio | |
| 2006 | Kingdom Hearts II | Young Simba | Archive audio |
Production credits
| Year | Title | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Extra | Director | Short film |
| 2013–2016 | Last Man Standing | 3 episodes |
Awards and nominations
Wins
- 1994 – Young Artist Awards for Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series (Home Improvement)
- 1996 – 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)
- 1998 – Kids' Choice Awards: Blimp Award for Favorite Television Actor (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)
- 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)
- 1997 – Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor (The Adventures of Pinocchio)
- 1997 – YoungStar Awards for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy 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)
- 1999 – Kids' Choice Awards: Blimp Award for Favorite TV Actor (Home Improvement)
See also
In Spanish: Jonathan Taylor Thomas para niños
