Teen Magazine February 1997 | Volume 41, Issue 2.
“We were laughing so hard during this photo shoot that when I went home, my face hurt,” says Jonathan Taylor Thomas of his in-front-of-the-camera reunion with Wild America costars Devon Sawa and Scott Bairstow. Interviews with all three Wild boys start on page 40.
By Maureen Basura
Photography by Greg Gorman
JTT time
Jonathan Taylor Thomas has had a long day. Up at 5:30 a.m. to get in the shower, on the road at six for his commute to the studio for rehearsal, script updates and lots of waiting. This day, they were using special effects in one of Jonathan’s scenes, which wasn’t working as planned. So the time that he sat waiting for the crew took chunks out of this in-demand 15-year-old phenom’s crazed schedule.
Since his leap into film, time has been one thing that Jonathan can’t get enough of.
Hiatuses away from Home Improvement have been filed with movie-making, first with The Lion King, Man of the House, Tom and Huck, then The Adventures of Pinocchio, and last summer, Wild America, co-starring Devon Sawa and Scott Bairstow. And now that he’s finally a freshman, school is tougher too. ‘In high school, studies take more time. My subjects aren’t easy like they used to be! I have to study a lot. And this is really when it matters. I know everything I do now will prepare me for college. I want to be well-rounded and go to a top university.”
Because of his desire to simultaneously be a student and a superstar, it’s no surprise that one of his major role models is actress/director Jodie Foster. “She was a child actor who went to a great school and came back to Hollywood more successful than before.”
After duplicating her stint at an Ivy League college, Jonathan would like to take a turn, like Jodie, at directing. Maybe that’s why Jonathan doesn’t think school ends when he leaves his tutor to go back to the set. With every project he’s on, he’s looking and absorbing information about what moviemakers do behind the camera to make their magic. “Everything I do I look at as great learning experience. I get to learn the technical aspect and also learn how to improve my acting.”
With a jam-packed schedule like JTT’s, it’s no surprise that he doesn’t have much time for a social life. But one thing he did get to do was go to last year’s Valentine’s Day dance at his regular school, and he plans to do the same this year. Any idea yet who the lucky girl will be? No, but like any girl who wants to share time with JTT, she’ll have to meet his strict demands for a date: Be a great conversationalist and be able to have serious discussions but also be comfortable enough to have some fun.
Fun is high priority in his life, says this admitted permanent prankster. That’s why he had such a blast while on location filming Wild America, due out this summer. Playing the youngest of three bros who go on a cross-country trip to film endangered wildlife was a challenge because he had to put up with more than his fair share of grief from his two older costars, both on and off the set. “They would try to justify it by saying that it would build my character!”
In addition to some serious character building, the guys got to do some major brother-style bonding during the two and a half months they spent filming Wild. They went to movies, out to eat—and got a kick out of the funny looks they occasionally got from fans who got a triple dose of the three drop-dead gorgeous dudes out on the town while on location in Savannah, Georgia.
But for now, Jonathan is back in the reality of his working life. As we wind up our conversation, talk turns to the horrors of an evening commute in Los Angeles and the homework that awaits, and once again he’s sounding kinda like the typical guy next-door. Yeah, right!
Birthday: September 8
Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Favorite Valentine’s Day memory: “In second grade, the last time I was in regular school for Valentine’s Day. I remember it was fun to make a list of who to give candy to and then I brought those candies that taste like chalk to everyone.”
Valentine’s Day on the set of Wild America: “A male bear noticed a female bear and was very interested. The trainer had to give them something like beer to calm them both down!”
Favorite gift to receive on Valentine’s Day: Nothing material: “Just spend a whole day having fun with the person I care about.”
On his on-screen brothers: “Devon and Scott and I looked like we could be related!”
Favorite TV shows: ER, Roseanne, Chicago Hope, News Radio
