Jonathan Tailor Thomas is build to laugh. Even at his most ernest, he seems just nanoseconds away from flashing that blinding grin and those tremendous dimples. But then, he's got a low threshold for laughter. Consider his favorite joke:
knock-knock. Who's there?
Interrupting cow. Interrupting cow wh-Moo.
The 15 years-old Home Improvement star is a dark and disdainful as a Teenie Beanie Baby. He rawer about Charles Dickens, plans to eventually settle in Wyoming or Montana, and when told poolside at a trendy L.A. hotel that there's classical music plying underwater, responds with an oh-sojaded "Get out!" He even cops to being a "solid" driver ("You may get a different story from my mom, he says with a smile).
About the only time you'll until "Jonathan" and "wild" in the same breath is when you're talking about his summer flick, Wild America. Based on true story, Wild follows the young Stouffer brothers (Jonathan, Devon and Scott Bairstow) on a summer-of-'67 trek to film every beast they can get their lens on."At a time when it wasn't so popular to break free and do your won thing, they did it, Jonathan says.
In the process, they cross paths with stampeding wild horses, an 11 - foot alligator and more. How did the actor deal with their less-that-civil costars ? "No one tried to upstage a grizzly," offers Jonathan, an animal lover. "They were so intimidating, with so much strength. You honored what they wanted."
Belligerent beast weren't the only tough customers on location, he says. When filming shifted from Georgia to Alberta, Canada Mother Nature made her presence know, too. "Savannah was 90 degree with 100 presence humidity, When we got to Calgary, it was 5 degree-they'd just had a blizzard the day before, "says the Pennsylvania - born actor. "I had, like, one pair of Converse shoes, and my feet were frozen."
Of course, Jonathan is no tantrum-thrower. He jokes, "I am not one to toss my weigh around -- I'm only 110 pounds." From his years on camera as HI's Randy, the aspiring writer/director/producer has become a por--despite the fact that millions witnessed his growing pains. "It's bizarre," he observes, "like having really well-made home movies."
By the way , he's not too keen on being called JTT. "Taylor in my middle name, and because I like it, I use it. I think people got tired of writing JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS," he says.
" I'm Jon or Jonathan. I don't net any funny call signs."
But people must be whispering about more that how cute or how coo "that JTT" is. I hope they're saying, 'He's a really nice, grounded guy,'" says Jonathan, with grin and dimples at full strength. Not to worry--that's what we're saying.