Disney Adventures (December, 1994)

JTT: Rockin’ Around The Clock

Written by Liz Smith

Volume 05 Number 02 | December 1994

D.A.. thinks Jonathan Taylor Thomas is the busiest 13-year-old we’ve ever met. Besides roaring as Simba’s voice in The Lion King, he has just finished his first live-action movie, Pals Forever (out in February), and is working on “Home Improvement.” But since JTT always has time for some kickin’ air-guitar, he can’t be that busy, can he? He dared us to hang with him for a day. We took his dare, tied on our cross-trainers, and whoosh, off we went!

6:30 a.m.

Brrrrring. Jonathan crawls out of bed, showers, feeds his two Himalayan cats, Sammy and Simba— “That’s his name, no joke” —and his Lhasa apso, Mac. “Mac’s a short guy,” he says. “He just thinks he’s a big German Shepherd. He’s real ornery, but he’s a great dog.”

7:45 a.m.

JTT’s mom drives him to the Disney Studios, where “H.I.” is taped. On the commute, Jonathan reads the newspaper. “I read the sports section, but I also read the classifieds.” Why? “I’m looking for a job,” Jonathan jokes. “No, I love old cars, so I like to see what’s for sale. I like the ’65 Mustang, the ’54 Porsche Speedster, the ’58 and ’61 Chevy Impalas—yeah, they’re big boats, but they’re cool. 

“Then I read the out-of-state real estate ads. I eventually want to move out of L.A. I wouldn’t mind going back to the East Coast. I’m from Pennsylvania. I don’t know if I could take the winters.”

8:45 a.m.

JTT arrives at Stage 4 on the Disney Studios lot and snags a snack. “I eat fruit or a bagel,” he says. “They get this fresh watermelon on the stage that’s great. I love honeydew and cantaloupe. And I drink a lot of milk.”

9 a.m.

Jonathan, who’s in seventh grade, goes to school in a trailer with co-stars Zachery Ty Bryan and Taran Noah Smith. “I love geography and history,” JTT says. “My least favorite subject is math.”

11 a.m.

He reports to rehearsal. What happens to Randy this season? “Randy mysteriously grows into this big 6-foot-tall guy, and he goes off to college!” He says. “No, they never tell us until that week what’s going to happen.”

Jonathan deepens his voice to sound like a director and jokes, “This episode, we have to sever your head. That’s OK, right?” Back to his own voice: “No problem. A little bit of makeup, I’ll be fine.”

1 p.m.

Lunch break! Yahoo! ‘I scarf down my food,” JTT admits. “I like a lot of pasta and salads. I’m vegetarian, so I don’t eat meat.”

Then he hits a basketball court/rec area (built for the “H.I.” boys) and jams in a football or b-ball game with the guys, or kids from other shows on the lot, like “Boy Meets World,” “Thunder Alley” and “All-American Girl.” Or he’ll play his newest sports love: roller hockey.

2 to 6 p.m.

More school and “H.I.” rehearsals until the end of the day.

6 p.m.

Back in the car for the hour drive home, Jonathan does homework, reads auto and fishing magazines and swaps stories with his mom.

7 p.m. 

He does the chore-thing at home. “I’ve gotta make sure the litter boxes are clean and that my cats and dog have fresh food and water,” JTT says. “And I take the trash out.”

7:30 p.m.

Chow down. Sometimes, Jonathan helps mom make dinner. “I enjoy cooking. Macaroni, that’s my specialty! And, I’m an excellent pizza orderer. Domino’s Pizza, they love me! I like to make pasta, Caesar salad and Greek salad—I love feta cheese,” he says.

“Let’s see…my mouth’s watering. I love a baked potato with nonfat sour cream and this stuff called lemon-pepper—I love it, I put it on everything!”

8 p.m.

He does some homework or watches his brother, Joel, 17, do his homework. “Joel’s really, really smart, not a nerd, though,” JTT says. “He’s always writing these lab reports for Honors Biology, and I have no clue what he’s saying. He’s an incredible basketball player, also. Sometimes, we’ll play a game of b-ball. Joel kills me. He just dunks over me every time.”

9 p.m.

Tube time for Jonathan. “I like ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,’ ‘Fraiser,’ ‘Roseanne’ and ‘Grace Under Fire,’” he says.

“I catch C-SPAN before I go to bed. I gotta keep up on daily events.

“I’m a night person, which drives everybody nuts ‘cause I like to stay up late,” he says. “I’m not too horrible when I don’t get a lot of sleep. I mean, I always get plenty of sleep. My mom makes sure of that.”

10:30 p.m.

Mom comes to tell Jonathan it’s bedtime. Lights out! And not a moment too soon—we’re whipped!