Jonathan Taylor Thomas, 42, was seen on a rare outing earlier this week after not being publicly photographed for two years. The former child actor stopped at a convenience store near his home in Southern California and wore a tan sweater over a green shirt, jeans, dark New Balance sneakers, and a black beanie, in photos obtained by Page Six. He also wore brown-framed round glasses and held a travel coffee mug, which he reportedly filled at the store.
Jonathan looked content and relaxed as he walked from the store back to his vehicle and didn’t seem too bothered by the cameras. At one point, he flashed a slight smile behind his scruffy facial hair.
Jonathan’s trip to the store comes after he was photographed taking a stroll in Los Angeles with his two dogs back in 2021. Before that, he wasn’t publicly seen for eight years while staying out of the spotlight.
Jonathan, who was affectionately known as “JTT” back in the 1990s, was best known for his role as Randy Taylor, son of Tim Allen‘s Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, on Home Improvement from 1991 until 1998. He also starred in several other films and television series up until the early 2000s, including The Lion King, in which he voiced the character of Young Simba, Tom and Huck, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, and 8 Simple Rules. His last listed role was in Last Man Standing from 2013 until 2015.
In 2013, Jonathan revealed why he decided to step away from acting and maintain a private life. “I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old,” he told PEOPLE. “I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.” He went on to study at Harvard, Columbia, and St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. “To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool,” he added. “It was a novel experience for me.”
Although Jonathan is no longer on the small or big screens on a regular basis, he’s still living a successful life. In 2017, he was elected to the SAG-AFTRA National Board, which leads the SAG-AFTRA labor union and represents around 160,000 entertainment workers across almost all screen-related fields, per The List. The following year, he was also reportedly working on a project with his former Home Improvement co-star Zachery Ty Bryan and Macaulay Culkin.