Jonathan Taylor Thomas Guest Stars on Tim Allen's 'Last Man Standing,' Has 'No Regrets' Leaving Hollywood

Jonathan Taylor Thomas spoke to People recently about his decision to give up fame—after his guest spot on Tim Allen’s “Last Man Standing” had fans in a tizzy to see their favorite Teen Beat star all grown up.

Thomas’ appearance on the show allowed for a few back-and-forths between himself and Allen that hopefully most audiences recognized as tongue-in-cheek references to “Home Improvement,” the show that made Thomas a household name.

“You look familiar,” Allen says as character Mike Baxter. Thomas appeared as a boss with possible designs on Mike Baxter’s daughter Kristin.

Thomas was 10 when “Home Improvement” first aired, and left the show at 16.

"I'd been going nonstop since I was 8 years old," said Thomas, now 31. “I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break." 

Thomas did just that. He attended Harvard, Columbia and St. Andrew's University in Scotland.

"To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool. It was a novel experience for me."

"I never took the fame too seriously," he says. "It was a great period in my life, but it doesn't define me. When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink. I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers." 

Now the “Lion King” actor is back in Los Angeles, but keeping his focus behind the camera by dabbling in directing and writing.

"I watch a lot of movies, I hike, I stay up on shows and theater,” he says of his free time.