"Grumpier Old Men" Premiere (December 14, 1995)

Actress Rachael Leigh Cook and actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas attend Warner Bros Pictures' 'Grumpier Old Men' Premiere on December 14, 1995 at Mann Bruin Theatre in Westwood, California, USA (Photos by Barry King/Alamy Stock Photo)

"Tom and Huck" Premiere (December 16, 1995)

Actors Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Rachael Leigh Cook attend the premiere of “Tom and Huck” on December 16, 1995 in Los Angeles, California, USA (Globe Photos/Kathy Hutchins/ZUMA Press)

Magazine Article (June, 1997)

Magazine article (Summer 1997)

Okay, so maybe he’s the number one cute guy on your own personal list of heartthrobs or perhaps he stands alone as the one and only cute guy on your list. Whatever the case, Jonathan Taylor Thomas certainly didn’t get to be your main man over night! …

IT ALL STARTED WITH HOME IMPROVEMENT…

A little cutie by the name of Jonathan Taylor Thomas first came to our attention in September of ’91 when a sitcom called Home Improvement premiered. The show revolved around Tim Taylor, host of a fix-it-yourself TV show called Tool Time, and husband and father of three sons. It was those three rambunctious yet adorable sons, Brad, Randy and Mark, who kept us tuning in. 

THE START OF SOMETHING BIG!

One year later, on summer break from Home Improvement, Jonathan landed another gig—the voice of a lion cub named Simba in Disney’s newest animated feature, The Lion King. We remember Jonathan being totally psyched as he shared with us the plot of what would become a blockbuster hit for Disney—and, unbeknownst to him, the start of something really big for Jonathan!

“I think the character of Simba is a lot like me,” Jonathan said around the time The Lion King was released. “He’s real energetic, and always looking around for a new adventure.” Jonathan’s next new adventure came in the form of his first live movie role. The movie was a comedy titled Man Of The House starring Farrah Fawcett and funnyman Chevy Chase. Jonathan starred as Ben Archer a youngster who does his darnedest to prevent his mom from remarrying. 

THE HARDEST WORKING TEEN IN THE BIZ!

And so, JTT, as he came to be known by fans far and wide, had taken off like a shot. Home Improvement was flying high in the ratings and Jonathan was pleased as punch to be making movies during the show’s hiatus. He was working harder than ever and loving every minute of it!

In 1995, Jonathan took on his biggest challenge to date—filming two movies back to back during his break. First he headed to Huntsville, Alabama to star in the title role in The Adventures Of Tom And Huck. JTT was the rascally Tom Sawyer and Brad Renfro his best friend Huck Finn. The movie marked another challenge for Jonathan—his first big screen kiss which he shared with the pretty Rachael Leigh Cook as Becky Thatcher. When the film wrapped, Jonathan was off to Europe and the Czech Republic to film The Adventures Of Pinocchio.

GOIN’ WILD!

And now for the film we’ve all been waiting for. That would be Wild America. Jonathan’s next movie, filmed on location in Georgia and parts of Canada, is the story of the Stouffer brothers, three brothers from Arkansas who grew up to become famous wildlife photographers. Fans are anxiously awaiting this movie for two major reasons—JTT, who stars as the youngest Stouffer brother, Marshall, and his cool co-stars, Devon Sawa and Scott Bairstow who star as Mark and Marty. Get set to go wild when Wild America comes to cheaters this summer!

HE WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING!

Looking back on his career and all he’s accomplished so far, Jonathan has said he “wouldn’t change a thing.” And, lucky for us, this talented and terrific teen star hopes to stick around for the long run. “I think I want to stay in the industry,” he says. “It’s something I’m comfortable with. I’d like to direct, but if I don’t, then maybe I can produce, write or do something else.”

"Young Actor Shares Twinkle, Mischief With Screen Role" The Oklahoman (December 22, 1995)

Young Actor Shares Twinkle, Mischief With Screen Role

By Sandi Davis

The Oklahoman

Published December 22, 1995

NEW YORK - Even in person, Jonathan Taylor Thomas has a Tom Sawyer-ish quality. His eyes twinkle, he sometimes smiles mischievously and he seems to be having a good time.

At 14, he's also a pro at interviews. After talking to the press for "The Lion King" (he was the voice of young Simba), "Man of the House" (he starred with Chevy Chase) and his role as Randy Taylor on television's "Home Improvement," he knows just what to say and is poised as he says it.

In his current film, Walt Disney's "Tom and Huck," Thomas plays Tom Sawyer.

The Walt Disney Co. invited reporters from around the country to New York to see the film and interview Thomas.

"I read Tom Sawyer in the third or fourth grade," he said. "I loved the story then, and when this came along later on I was extremely happy and I read the books again ... " A few weeks before filming started, Thomas visited Mark Twain's house in Hartford, Conn., which helped him understand how Twain came to write the story. Though "Tom Sawyer" wasn't written in that house, Thomas said there were mementos of the writer's career throughout the home.

"Tom and Huck" was shot in Madison County and in the small town of Mooresville, Ala., which had the sites they needed and a few things they didn't. During production, the area was hit by a tornado.

"We were basically at Mother Nature's mercy," he said. "The tornado was quite bad. It damaged a lot of homes and killed some people there. It was quite awful. We left. It kept on getting closer and closer and the rain was coming down in sheets. It was wicked. You could see it in the distance and we said, 'Let's get out of here, it's not worth it. We're not going to be able to shoot, you know that. ' We took off and got out of there. " Thomas said the rest of the shoot was fun, and he enjoyed hanging out with his co-star Brad Renfro, who played Huck Finn.

In the film, they get in jam after jam and always manage to bail each other out. In one scene, they get disguised in mud to raid Injun Joe's camp.

"One of the most peculiar days was when we filmed the mud," Thomas said. "That was odd, being covered head to toe with mud for two days.

"Most of the time we were in Alabama and it was early summer so it was pretty warm and getting more humid daily. The days we filmed that, it was overcast ... and every time a breeze would come up - coated in mud - we would freeze. " They spent time in a heated tent laughing about their predicament, but the mud had advantages too.

"We couldn't do school because we'd go in the trailer and try to write something and we're dribbling mud all over everything," he said. "They kept on having to reapply the mud because it would dry and flake off, so it was not the most comfortable thing, but it looks pretty good. " Because of the number of children on the set, school was a regular event. The kids would take classes in the short breaks between takes and at one point, Thomas took some final exams in the back of a cave where it was 52 degrees.

In the book and the movie, Tom Sawyer has a youthful romance with Becky Thatcher. In the film, they kiss.

"It was nerve-racking, to do it in front of people," he said. "I finally asked the director how many angles he was going to shoot of this.

"We were both kind of nervous, but that kind of incorporated well into the scene, because Tom and Becky were nervous. It was kind of a peck, so it's no big deal. " Thomas is becoming a teen idol with his picture featured on many magazines aimed at teen-age girls.

"My mom goes in and buys them at the supermarket to make a scrapbook," he said. "They ask her if she has a daughter. " He hasn't had any trouble being misquoted in those magazines yet and likes the fact they give him a chance to make positive statements.”

(Photo: Getty Images)

"Thomas Is Hook In 'Tom and Huck'" The Virginian-Pilot (December 22, 1995)

Thomas Is Hook In “Tom and Huck”

By MAL VINCENT, Entertainment Writer 

The Virginian-Pilot

Published: Friday, December 22, 1995

DELIVERING A BIG smooch can be a little daunting for a guy under the best of circumstances. Where does the nose go, anyway?

Just imagine trying it with a movie crew watching. Then imagine trying it for 30 takes, and you get an idea what Jonathan Taylor Thomas endured.

“Kissing? Well, yeah, I had to kiss a girl but, uh, to tell you the truth I would rather have been fishing,” said Thomas, the 14-year-old star of “Tom and Huck.” “It was a little, uh, embarrassing with all those people watching.”

The teen star of TV's “Home Improvement” has fans lined up for his second film, “Tom and Huck,” which opens in theaters today. He's Tom Sawyer opposite Brad Renfro (that Southern-talking lad in “The Client”) as Huckleberry Finn.

Thomas is on the cover of just about every teen magazine, from Bop to 16 to Tiger Beat. He gets

50,000 fan letters a month on the “Home Improvement” set.

“My mom buys ‘those' magazines to make a scrapbook, but I don't really read them,” he said.

What really made Hollywood sit up and take notice of young Thomas was “Man of the House,” a critically panned little movie that starred Chevy Chase. It grossed almost $10 million on opening weekend and was the No. 1 movie in the country. And no one thought it was Chevy Chase who was drawing the crowd. Jeffrey Katzenburg, then the head of the Disney studio, even telephoned young Thomas.

“He told me we were a hit and that he hoped we'd work together again soon.”

The next day, he got a gift from the studio - a fly rod, suiting his fishing fancy. The day after that, the studio sent a huger-than-huge home entertainment center.

The eighth-grader shuffled a little uncomfortably when we asked him about the whole phenomenon. “It takes a little getting use to,” he admitted. “Yes, I do get recognized at the supermarket, but it's OK. Well, I just say ‘Hi' and tell them it's hard work. They don't want to hear that.”

Sitting in the Parker-Meridian Hotel in New York City, JTT, as his pals call him, showed no weariness after a whirlwind tour of the city to publicize the new movie.

So what's a cool kid from the cover of Tiger Beat magazine doing back in 1845 trying to pull that old gambit about whitewashing the fence?

“Kids today probably wouldn't fall for whitewashing the fence,” Thomas said. “Anyway, there'd be a spray-paint thing to do it. But it's a good yarn. I read ‘Tom Sawyer,' I guess, when I was in the third or fourth grade. It's a great role.”

JTT was born in Pennsylvania as the second son to Stephen and Claudine Weiss. He grew up in Sacramento, Calif., and got occasional jobs as a model (for print ads and industry stage shows).

After his mom and dad broke up, he changed his billing from Jonathan Weiss to Jonathan Taylor Thomas. In 1991, he landed the job on a new TV situation comedy, “Home Improvement.”

There wasn't a great deal of attention until the third season of the show. Press reports stated that all three of the boys, goaded by their agents, called in sick - reportedly asking for a raise from $8,000 to $25,000 per show. The producers were not amused and announced that they'd recast with other actors if the boys didn't show up immediately.

The boys returned to work, and it was that year when the teenage girls began to notice “the middle kid.”

He scored big as the voice of the young Simba in “The Lion King” (One animator held him upside down to get the proper yells of tension for the wildebeest stampede.)

California law requires a certain number of school-work hours, even on the “Tom and Huck” set in Alabama.

“Have you ever tried writing a term paper in a cave? The last scenes of ‘Tom and Huck' were in a cave and I worked on my term paper in between scenes.”

He wants to go to college and eventually become a director. Jodie Foster and Ron Howard, both actors turned directors, are his idols. He's already visited Harvard and Yale to take a look.

He's already finished “Pinocchio,” co-starring Martin Landau and set to be released in the spring.

His favorite records are those of Hootie and the Blowfish and Dave Matthews. He also likes Led Zeppelin, The Doors and the Beastie Boys.

About that kiss . . .

In “Tom and Huck,” he gets his first screen kiss - from an older woman, Rachael Leigh Cook, age 15. She plays Becky Thatcher.

“I would rather have been fishing,” he said, “but Rachael was very nice. It's just that everyone was watching. One kiss would have been all right, but we had 30 takes on the scene.”

So what kind of a girl would he like?

“Most of all, right now, I'd like a girl who can bait a hook.”

ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Rachel Leigh Cook are Tom and Becky

By CNB

(Photo: Getty Images)

1995 "Tom and Huck" Stills

Photographic stills from the 1995 Disney film “Tom and Huck" featuring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Eric Schweig.

(©Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection-Moviestore/REX)

(©Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection-Moviestore/REX)

Filmography: "Tom and Huck" (1995)

Tom and Huck

Release: December 22, 1995 (United States)

Director: Peter Hewitt

Writer: Mark Twain, Stephen Sommers, David Loughery

Genre: Adventure/Drama/Comedy

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes

Starring:

Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Tom Sawyer

Brad Renfro as Huckleberry Finn

Rachael Leigh Cook as Becky Thatcher

Eric Schweig as Injun Joe

Mike McShane as Muff Potter

Charles Rocket as Ritcher Thatcher

Synopsis:

Adapted from the novel, originally written by Mark Twain, two mischievous best friends, Tom Sawyer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and Huckleberry Finn (Brad Renfro) witness a murder and embark on a series of adventures in order to prove the innocence of the man, Muff Potter (Michael McShane), wrongly accused of the crime.

Production Companies:

Walt Disney Pictures

Painted Fence Productions 

Distributors:

Walt Disney Pictures

(1995 Walt Disney Pictures)