90s TV Home Improvement star Jonathan Taylor Thomas unrecognisable after rare public outing

Teen heart-throb Jonathan Thomas Taylor charmed a whole generation of young girls ... then disappeared. Photo / News Corp Australia

He was the teen heartthrob who played a starring role on the hit 90s TV show Home Improvement, but after years out of the spotlight, Jonathan Taylor Thomas has made a rare public appearance.

Looking wildly different from his role on Home Improvement as Randy Taylor between 1991 and 1998, the now 42-year-old was photographed in Hollywood dressed down in a black beanie, baggy jeans and a pale Lacoste jumper.

It’s the first time the former Lion King star has been photographed in public since 2021. Before that, he hadn’t been in sight for six years.

During his teen years, he amassed an adoring fanbase, going on to appear in shows such as Wild Thornberrys and 8 Simple Rules.

ICYMI: Former child star Jonathan Taylor Thomas resurfaced over the weekend after vanishing from public life for quite some time ... and the dude looks almost unrecognizable! https://t.co/dTlQd0Jp3e

— TMZ (@TMZ) December 11, 2023

He also voiced young Simba in the 1994 smash hit The Lion King.

He was heavily involved in the film and television industry before stepping away from the spotlight around 2005.

Despite returning between 2013 and 2015 to appear in four episodes of his Home Improvement co-star Tim Allen’s show Last Man Standing, Thomas’ main focus was his education.

During his acting hiatus, he studied philosophy and history, graduating with a degree from Columbia University in 2010.

Speaking to People Magazine in 2013, he said wanted to take a break from acting to experience a normal life such as travel and education.

“I’d been (acting) nonstop since I was eight years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.

He was the 90s 'it-boy' - until he checked out of showbiz, for good. Whatever happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas? Photo / Supplied

“To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool.

“It was a novel experience for me.”

His net worth is an estimated $16 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, with much to do with residual payments from projects like Home Improvement and The Lion King.

He reportedly made an estimated $8000 per episode of Home Improvement and also earned $600,000 for Tom And Huck.