What Happened To Brad From Home Improvement?
Warning: Descriptions of domestic assault below
Comedian Tim Allen's family sitcom "Home Improvement" was a classic. Thickheaded Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor (Allen) hosted the home improvement TV show "Tool Time" (DIY before HGTV) and went through the growing pains of fatherhood at home with his wife Jill (Patricia Richardson) and three boys, Mark, Brad, and Randy, played by Taran Noah Smith, Zachery Ty Bryan, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, respectively.
For the show's eight-season run, Jonathan Taylor Thomas would hang on the wall of young millennial girls all across America. Afterward, the heartthrob continued to book roles until transitioning to behind the camera. His younger counterpart Taran Smith appears to have quit acting in 1999, shortly after the end of "Home Improvement." That leaves the oldest of the young actors, Zachery Ty Bryan. Bryan also continued to pursue work in front of and behind the camera. The producer has stayed busy with film projects and court proceedings. (Yes, you read that right.) Here's everything that's happened to Brad from "Home Improvement" since the show ended.
Zachery Ty Bryan the producer
The good news is that at first, everything was going well for Zachery Ty Bryan. After "Home Improvement," he continued booking guest star roles on other primetime series, including "ER," "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," and "Veronica Mars." He also began transitioning into film, with roles in "The Rage: Carrie 2" and "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift."
In 2013, Bryan began producing his own films via his production company Lost Lane. His executive-produced projects have garnered acclaim, including the American version of "The Kindergarten Teacher," directed by Sara Colangelo and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gael Garcia Bernal. The film was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize award at Sundance, and Colangelo won Best Director (via IMDb).
The story is an indie darling, with a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Lost Lane was also behind the 2018 cryptocurrency documentary "BIT X BIT: In Bitcoin We Trust" and 2019's revenge thriller "Heavy."
Zachery Ty Bryan the political pundit
Zachery Ty Bryan made a different sort of return to TV in 2018. The sitcom actor appeared on the conservative daytime news show "Fox and Friends" numerous times from 2018 to 2019. He often provided political and social commentary toward other Hollywood actors like Seth Rogen, Kira Sedgwick, and Kevin Bacon, whom he referred to as "celebrity elitists" who had "lost touch with middle America."
While Zachery skirted his exact political views on national television, he often tweeted his support for former U.S. president Donald Trump. As of now, his latest tweet is from October 2020, a little less than a month prior to the 2020 presidential election. It's actually a retweet from GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, a call to action for "BIG changes for BIG tech."
Despite his rising star as a political man of action, Zachery Ty Bryan's focus at the time was caught up in more pressing matters than the 2020 election.
Zachery Ty Bryan the criminal
On October 1, 2020, Zachery Ty Bryan posted on his now-defunct Instagram that he and his wife Carly Matros had decided to go their separate ways. The couple of 14 years had three daughters together.
Three weeks after the split was announced (and later deleted), Bryan was arrested in Eugene, Oregon, on multiple charges of assault against his girlfriend (via People). In a police interview, Bryan's 27-year-old girlfriend told police that she and the actor/producer had been dating for two years, despite Bryan only having been separated from his wife for three weeks. She also said that Bryan had become violent only in the last month and had not exhibited violence toward her in the years beforehand.
On the night of the attack, she alleged Bryan dragged her out of bed by her hair, beat her, strangled her, and thwarted her attempts to call 911. Bryan was apparently upset over a missing phone charger, she told police. After the initial 911 call and dispatchers' attempts to call back, police were sent to the location, where they found a bloodied, bruised victim and an evasive Bryan.
Bryan, 39, was charged in Lane County with eight counts. They included two counts of menacing, two of assault in the fourth degree, coercion, felony strangulation, harassment, and interference with making a report. He was later released on bail. In February 2021, Deadline reported that the former child star had pleaded guilty to menacing and assault in the fourth degree, two felony counts. He received three years of probation and was ordered to participate in a batterer intervention program. As of now, Bryan has not released any public statements regarding the incident.
On a weird side note, Bryan's 2020 Instagram post announcing his split from Carly Matros was taken word-for-word from actor Armie Hammer's own divorce announcement. Hammer himself has recently been accused of a series of abusive and disturbing behaviors.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224. You can also find more information, resources, and support at www.thehotline.org.