Former ‘Home Improvement’ star Jonathan Taylor Thomas makes rare public appearance for first time in 2 years

Jonathan Taylor Thomas has resurfaced.

The “Home Improvement” alum, 42, was spotted for the first time in two years earlier this week as he stopped at a convenience store near his Southern California home.

The former ’90s heartthrob — who rocked a scruffy beard and longer hair — wore a black beanie, glasses, a light brown sweater and jeans for the outing.

In the snaps taken earlier this week, the “Lion King” voice actor walked into a convenience store to refill his metal coffee mug. Once he paid for his drink, he walked to his car, which was parked right outside.

The last time JTT was photographed was more than two years ago when he was spotted going out for a walk with his two small dogs in Los Angeles.

Before that, he hadn’t been glimpsed in public for eight years.

Thomas became an instant teen pinup for his role as middle son Randy Taylor on the ABC sitcom “Home Improvement.”

The show, starring Tim Allen, ran from 1991 to 1999.

Thomas cemented his 90s icon status by voicing young Simba in Disney’s 1994 animated feature film “The Lion King” and Pinocchio in the 1996 film “The Adventures of Pinocchio.”

He also starred opposite Tim Allen on the big screen in 1995’s “Man of the House.”

However, Thomas opted out of “Home Improvement” in 1998 to focus on academics.

“I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break,” he told People magazine in 2013. “To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool. It was a novel experience for me.”

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Thomas went on to study philosophy and history at Harvard University and graduated from Columbia University in 2010. He also attended St. Andrews University in Scotland.

In the 2000s, he had a series of small roles in shows like “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” and “Veronica Mars.” And in 2013, he guest-starred on the second-season finale of “Last Man Standing,” reuniting with his TV dad, Tim Allen.

Despite the more recent appearances on the small screen, Thomas has no regrets about stepping away from the spotlight.

“I never took the fame too seriously,” he said in the People interview. “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.”

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