"Growing Up On-and Offscreen" Newsday TV PLUS (January 23-29, 2000)

Growing Up On-and Offscreen 

By Steve Parks

Newsday TV PLUS 

In “Mr. Roberts,” set in the ‘70s and written by Terrence McNally, Tony-winning author of “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” “Master Class,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and “Ragtime,” Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ character is struggling to come to terms with the likelihood that he is gay. He turns to his French teacher for advice. But Mr. Roberts — who insists on being call Mr. Ro-BEAR—is reluctant to come out to himself because he is in line to become principal of the school. It’s a very different role for the young actor who grew up on network sitcom TV. “I started on ‘Home Improvement’ when I was 9-years-old,” said Thomas, “and I worked on the show for eight years. So that’s a large chunk of my acting experience so far.

“It was a great launching pad, but,” he added, “my goal lately has been to challenge myself and broaden as an actor by playing some characters, like Toby, who are not only very different from myself, but different from those I’ve played in the past.”

Though Toby is the first overtly gay role for Thomas, he said he did not try to play him with the character’s homosexuality in mind. “I think what the project is all about is right there in the title — ‘Common Ground.’ We were trying to stress the fact that gays aren’t so different from the rest of us. And what differences we do have are trivial against the big picture.

“What I tried to play with Toby is the isolation he felt,” says Thomas, “and how scary that can be for any of us. I think we’ve all felt isolated in some way. That’s applicable to any sort of minority or any kind of discrimination — whether you wear glasses or you’re short. Whatever”

In tying together the three playlets at the end, each of the central characters shows up at Amos and Andy’s wedding.

“It’s fairly upbeat,” says Thomas. “The other two incidents in the film are kind of traumatic. And I think there was some intention here to end on a more optimistic note because we really have come a long way.”

For Thomas, the most gratifying moment came at the conclusion of the shooting for “Mr. Roberts,” when he got to meet the author. “When someone hands you a script by Terrence McNally, you have these really high expectations,” said Thomas. “And it was so great to have those expectations met.”