The Home Improvement star combines his own interests with his TV character.
If you asked 16-year-old Jonathan Taylor Thomas what the biggest difference is between him and his Home Improvement TV character, Randy Taylor, the actor would respond in one sentence. “Randy gets into a lot more trouble than I do,” he’s said.
Now that the show is well into its seventh season, there are two extra layers Jonathan will be (or is in the process of) adding to Randy. The first one is his character’s romantic trials and tribulations, which will often be played for laughs. “Randy’s pretty together when it comes to everyday life,” Jonathan has observed. “But around girls, he’s a bit less together. That’s always funny.”
A more serious issue will involve Randy’s awareness of growing up and the responsibilities that it brings. “My character is going to be testing his boundaries, doubting his surroundings and the values that have been instilled in him,” Jonathan has shared. “He’s going to be questioning a lot of things in life and confronting people on certain issues.”
Environmental Concerns
One of these issues will be the environment, which has been one of Jonathan’s longtime passions in real life. Any true J.T.T. fan knows the actor is a big supporter of wildlife and nature preservation, and he’s thrilled the writers on the show have tied in his concern for the environment with their story line.
Now there’s a common link Randy and J.T.T. can share, for which the actor is also grateful. However, Jonathan says that he always felt his character would eventually go that way. “The writers here know me, they know what I’m about and they know what interests me,” the blueeyed cutie has said. “It seemed like a natural gravitation to put the environment into my character as well.”
Script Input
Which brings us to wonder, just how much input does J.T.T. have when it comes to Randy? Let’s just say that after working with the same writers for seven years, Jonathan is not shy about voicing his views.
“If I couldn’t go up to them and say, ‘You know what? I don’t think my character would say this and I want to change this,’ it would be a problem,” Jonathan tells BB. “I rarely have to do that, but when I do, it’s always taken into account.”
Since we’ve followed Randy from his early “kid” days to his current “teen” years, is the adult Randy not far off? Or will Home Improvement end its run before then? “I don’t know, it really depends,” J.T.T.’s said. “As long as we keep making episodes that are challenging and fun, I don’t see why it can’t go on for a while.”
Source: BOP Magazine Date: November 1997 Author: unknown