Hilary Duff was left speechless after nearly everyone in the studio audience admitted they didn’t know her childhood idol Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
“Do you remember JTT?” the Disney alum asked a fan who asked about his childhood obsession on Wednesday’s episode of “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”
“Look, you’re too young. Too young,” she added, before asking the entire crowd, “Raise your hand if you know who I’m talking about.”
“Not even half,” Duff said, shocked.
“Okay, guys. He was on ‘Home Improvement,'” the “Lizzie McGuire” alum explained, referring to the 1990s sitcom starring Tim Allen.
“He was in ‘The Lion King,’ too. He was a kid. He was the voice of Simba, right?” she continued.
Thomas’ most famous role was as Randy Taylor on “Home Improvement.”
The 44-year-old actor played Tom Sawyer in the 1995 film “Tom & Huck” and provided the voice of Pinocchio in the 1996 film “The Adventures of Pinocchio.”
He then began taking on smaller roles on television, and his last appearance was a recurring guest appearance on another sitcom directed by Allen, Last Man Standing, from 2013 to 2015.
However, Thomas gradually moved away from Hollywood and studied history and philosophy at Harvard University.
He then graduated from Columbia University in 2010 and attended the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
In 2013, the former ’90s heartthrob spoke candidly about his decision to step away from the spotlight. “I’ve been working non-stop since I was 8 years old,” he told People magazine.
“I wanted to go to school, travel, and take some time off,” Thomas continued. “I’ve never taken fame too seriously. It was a great time in my life, but it doesn’t define me.”
Mr. Thomas was last seen in public in 2023, emerging from a convenience store in Southern California.
Two years earlier, he was photographed walking his dog.
