Why Did Jonathan Taylor Thomas Leave Hollywood?

Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Just saying those three words once sent girls into full on screaming fits.  Bedroom walls and lockers were plastered with his posters and the must have was any Tiger Beat or 16 magazine that included an article on him. Virtually every girl daydreamed of marrying JTT back in the 90’s.

So what happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas?  He sort of dropped off the face of the earth after Home Improvement went off the air in 1999.

As a teaser for his guest role on Tim Allen's Last Man Standing that aired last Friday, the Home Improvement star dished about his decision to leave the fame game.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas spoke to People Magazine about his decision to take a step back from the spotlight. The 31-year-old actor said he doesn’t regret ditching acting at the height of his career. "I'd been going nonstop since I was 8 years old," Taylor, who was on the ABC sitcom from 1991-99, said. "I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break."

In his nearly 10 years away from Hollywood, Taylor attended Harvard, Columbia and St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, relishing life as a student.

Now JTT (who hates to be called that, by the way) is back in Los Angeles and he's concentrating on directing, writing scripts and taking advantage of his free time. “I watch a lot of movies, I hike, I stay up on shows and theater,” he said.

I so love this guy.  Think about it.  So many celebs complain about how their private life isn’t private. But how can it be when they’re constantly in the public eye?  Jonathan Taylor Thomas has remained under the paparazzi radar by managing to keep his personal life personal until HE was ready for people to know what was up.

Oh, and he’s still incredibly yummy!