Jonathan Taylor Thomas rose to fame as middle child Randy on Home Improvement and also voiced young Simba in Disney’s 1994 animated feature film The Lion King. The singer/actor made his last appearance on the show’s eighth season in 1998 and went on to study at Harvard University and St Andrews in Scotland.
HGTV’s Farmhouse Fixer
Despite his fame, Jonathan Taylor Thomas has avoided the temptation to move to Hollywood. Instead, the NKOTB star and his husband Harley Rodriguez live on an Essex farm outside of Boston where they restore old farmhouses. Their first project for HGTV’s Farmhouse Fixer involved a farmhouse that dates back to the 1700s.
The couple worked with designer Kristina Crestin, who runs her own residential design firm based in New England. Crestin says that she was “not prepared to see Jon in sequins” when she saw him on the show for the first time.
Knight isn’t a television neophyte, having appeared on talk shows and reality series throughout his career as part of the popular boy band in the ’80s and ’90s. But HGTV’s Farmhouse Fixer is his first series as a host. He and his team are meticulously restoring centuries-old New England farmhouses while maintaining the homes’ historic character. The result is a home that’s fit for the family of today and tomorrow.
New Kids on the Block
When New Kids on the Block hit the scene in the ’80s, they quickly became one of the biggest boy bands in America. Their self-titled debut album and 1990’s Hangin’ Tough both sold millions of copies.
Now in their early 50s, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight and Jonathan Knight continue to deliver high-energy performances with the same charisma that made them famous in the heyday of teen pop. The band has been touring consistently since 2008 and also hosts a wildly popular NKOTB cruise each year.
The group has also starred on a few television shows, including NKOTB’s Rock This Boat, which follows die-hard fans aboard a Caribbean cruise where they get to party with the boys. It was recently renewed for a third season. The cast includes a variety of fans from three sisters taking the trip of their dreams to single moms hoping to meet the band’s stars. In addition to the band members, the show features a variety of celebrity guests.
Voice of Young Simba in The Lion King
Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played Randy Taylor on Home Improvement, voiced young Simba in the 1994 blockbuster animated feature film The Lion King. He also appeared in the movie’s sequels and spin-offs.
Beyonce Knowles-Carter returns to the role of Nala, Simba’s mate and queen of the Pride Lands. She is a much bigger part of the prequel story. She also voices a character in the cartoon television series The Lion Guard.
Other cast members include Matthew Broderick as Simba, Jason Marsden as Timon and Pumbaa, Jerry Stiller as Rafiki, Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, Ed, and Banzai, and Corey Feldman as Zira.
Thomas dipped his toe back into entertainment in the 2000s, appearing on a few short-lived sitcoms and voicing the character Tyler Tucker in The Wild Thornberrys and Smallville. In 2015, he guest-starred on his TV dad Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing and directed three episodes. He is also the host of a podcast, The Life and Times of JTT. Earlier this week, the actor was photographed outside his California home.
Voice of Pinocchio in The Adventures of Pinocchio
In the 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio, Martin Landau played Geppetto and Jonathan Taylor Thomas voiced the titular character. The film was based on the Italian fairy tale.
The aging woodcarver Geppetto carves a wooden boy puppet and names it Pinocchio. When the puppet comes alive, life isn’t always kind to him. He must fight to find his true identity while overcoming all of the perilous obstacles, profit-hungry villains and dangerous creatures that life throws at him.
The cast also includes John Goodman as the coachman, a cat and fox who trick Pinocchio into their home and then attempt to hang him; the Fairy with Turquoise Hair (la Fata dai capelli turchini) — the spirit of the forest that protects Pinocchio; the Talking Cricket (il cerchio della lucigna) — the puppet’s guardian angel; and the Green Fisherman (il Pescatore verde) — the Green-Skinned Ogre on the Island of Busy Bees. The intrepid puppet must also fight off a large serpent with glowing green skin and fiery eyes.