No young actor in the 90s has managed to achieve teen heartthrob status quite like Jonathan Taylor Thomas. The young star of Home Improvement was the biggest teen icon of this decade, appearing non-stop for many years on the covers of teen magazines everywhere.
Born Jonathan Weiss in small town Pennsylvania on September 8th, 1981, he got an early start in the industry. He began working as a model after moving to California when he was four. Commercials for television would come next and then even bigger things.
Weiss landed his first acting gig on the ill-fated Brady Bunch update, "The Bradys". It wasnt a very good start into television-land yet he bounced back quickly. He changed his name to Jonathan Taylor Thomas (which fans later shortened to simply J.T.T.) and found himself on another fledgling sitcom in 1991, Home Improvement. The show was an immediate success and has remained one for many years. Playing middle son Randy, Thomas received recognition that landed his face all over the teen magazine circuit.
It was his voice and not his face that got him his first big cinematic break. Voicing Simba, the lion cub in Disneys The Lion King, helped JTT gain some prestige and allowed him to break out of his sitcom world into the mainstream. He followed up with roles in such kids fare as Man of the House, Tom and Huck, The Adventures of Pinocchio and Wild America.
Jonathan has now left Home Improvement, in order to pursue his acting career in movies. Rumors abounded that he left because he wanted his character to come out of the closet but the producers said no. However they have not been substantiated. Most likely, they arose after it was announced that he would portray a gay hustler in the upcoming Speedway Junkie. In an attempt to break away from his wholesome image, he has taken a role in the movie, which also stars Tiffani-Amber Thiessen. 
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