Jonathan Taylor Thomas is pulling a Jodie Foster.
The Teen Beat cover boy is walking away from his Home Improvement gig and hitting the books. JTT, a 16-year-old high school junior, wants to “concentrate on his preparation for a top university,” his publicist announced Tuesday.
Thomas, middle son Randy Taylor on Home Improvement, will appear in just three episodes next season–the first two and the Christmas show. To explain his disappearance, producers for the ABC sitcom say TV parents Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson will ship him off to pursue “his interest in environmental issues.” (Huh? Does that mean he’ll be studying apes in the Congo? Saving seals in the Arctic? Terrorizing lumberjacks in Montana?)
JTT, whose film résumé includes Wild America, Tom and Huck, The Adventures of Pinocchio and The Lion King (he was the voice of young Simba), says in a statement: “I’ve enjoyed working with Tim and I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such a great cast, crew and writers for the past seven years.
“I’m really going to miss all the laughs.”
ABC’s top-rated show, Home Improvement is entering its eighth year and, according to trade reports, could shut down at season’s end.
Source: E! Online
Author: Marcus Errico