Star says he’s a lot like his television character
By Corrie Hoenig, David Monaco and Michael Riggio
Kidsday
We interviewed 12-year-old Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who plays Randy on ABC’s hit series, “Home Improvement.” You’ve also probably heard him this summer as the voice of Young Simba in the Disney film “The Lion King.”
Q: How do you handle the way people treat you?
A: As far as what? People are generally very nice. Giving autographs is part of the job.
Q: How many pets do you have?
A: I have a Lhasa Apso dog named Mac and two cats, Samantha and Simba.
Q: Do you like working with tools?
A: I like working with my hands. I like anything like hammers and saws that gets the job done.
Q: Do you ever wish you didn’t have to work so much?
A: Not really. But sometimes I am on the set and I wish I were with my friends at a movie.
Q: Are you like your character?
A: Oh yes. We are always thinking and scheming. I have a 16-year-old brother so I am always trying to think of ways to get him back for things he did to me. But I wouldn’t steal money for charity, and I couldn’t put my 16-year-old brother in a garbage can.
Q: Do you play sports?
A: I’ve played on a soccer team since I was 4 years old. I play basketball and I ski. But my favorite thing to do is fishing.
Q: Is it hard to memorize your lines?
A: Not really. Once you get into the rhythm of reading the script, you can interrupt it very easily.
Q: Do you have a girlfriend?
A: No, do you?
Q: How did you get this part?
A: I was born in Bethlehem, Pa., but I moved to Northern California and began doing a lot of print work. Then I got the role of Kevin, Greg Brady’s son on “The Bradys.” That helped get me this part.
Q: Do you wear makeup?
A: No. If I have a scratch they will cover it up.
Q: How do you manage school?
A: Our TV schedule is that we shoot three weeks, and have one week off. When we are shooting, the public school sends the work to the set. We have a tutor there. When we are not shooting, I go to public school.
Q: What advice can you give to kids?
A: You can’t slack off in the acting business. You have to use all your energy in every role you try out for.
Q: Do you have a laugh track?
A: No, all the laughs are real. It is taped before a live audience. We have microphones that hang out over the audience and it picks up the laughter.
Q: Do you get a lot of fan mail?
A: I guess I get about 200 a week.
Q: Is Tim Allen really funny?
A: Yes. He’s been doing stand up comedy for 13 years.
Q: Did you think your series would be so successful?
A: They guaranteed us for seven episodes, which was good. We were just picked up for three years.
Q: You began this at age 9. Have they changed your character?
A: Yes. They are developing all of the characters now. I play the middle son, yet I am the oldest. I am still growing, but everyone grows at different stages. I think I will grow.
Q: Do you wear your own clothes?
A: No. They supply all the clothes, but if there is something we don’t like, we do have a say. I was allowed to tell them the clothes I like. In beginning we didn’t have that much to say.
Q: Do you do anything special to calm yourself before the show?
A: You can do this a million times and you are still going to be nervous. You can’t beat stage fright. I watch a TV show for example to mentally take that pressure away.
(If you want to write to Jonathan Taylor Thomas, send a letter to him in care of “Home Improvement,” 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA, 90067.)
Kidsday, which is staffed by student reporters, is a service of Newsday, a newspaper on Long Island, New York.
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