Brad's Actor From Home Improvement Is Unrecognizable Now
The "child actor to troubled adult" pipeline may be a cliche, but it is the case that many kids in show business struggle in their teenage and grown-up years (some even end up in jail). The term "child actor syndrome" is even used in popular write-ups on mental health and behavioral issues. To be sure, it's not a universal problem. Take the young cast of "Home Improvement," for instance — Jonathan Taylor Thomas, also of "The Lion King" fame, enjoyed his time as a child star, moved on, and now enjoys life around the industry but not in the heart of it. On the other hand, Taran Noah Smith, who played the youngest of the Taylor boys on the sitcom, fought a legal battle with his parents over his trust fund (they later reconciled), dropped out of school, and married a woman 15 years his senior.
And what about the boy behind Brad Taylor — Zachery Ty Bryan, the oldest of the child stars from "Home Improvement?" Now 43 as of this writing, Bryan no longer wears the mullet or the '90s curtains that were his character's hairstyles. As of 2009, he stepped away from acting. But he hasn't left the headlines, as his actions in recent years have landed him in far more serious trouble than Brad Taylor ever got into. Most recently, he was arrested in Oklahoma for driving without a valid license and DUI in October 2024. It was his second DUI of the year — he'd been charged in February in California. But those are just the latest in a series of legal battles that have left Bryan's reputation in Hollywood unrecognizable from his youth.
He was accused of assault multiple times
Prior to his DUI charges in 2024, Zachery Ty Bryan faced far more serious allegations of assault. Notably, he was arrested in North Eugene, Oregon in October 2020. It was reported that Bryan had attacked his girlfriend, Johnnie Faye Cartwright, more than 10 years his junior, in an apartment, and that he had taken her phone away when she tried to dial 911. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a police report claims both parties showed signs of intoxication, but Bryan was charged with strangulation and assault, among other things. Cartwright claimed that the abuse was part of a long pattern. To avoid jail time, Bryan agreed to a plea deal of three years' probation and ceasing all contact with his victim.
That order didn't last. Bryan announced his engagement to Cartwright the following year and presented a clean, happy face to the public. He told The Hollywood Reporter that the charges from 2020 were "blown out of proportion." But in 2023, he was facing charges of fourth-degree felony assault, third-degree robbery, and harassment for another incident in Oregon. Once again, he took a plea deal, this time one that gave him a week in jail and 36 months' probation for the assault charge in exchange for dropping the rest. This time, Cartwright put out a statement in support of her fiancé.
He was charged with running a fraudulent startup
Zachery Ty Bryan has dabbled in entrepreneurship. He has his own production company, Lost Lane, and he's dabbled in business ventures away from the entertainment industry. One of those landed him in legal hot water between his assault allegations. In a lengthy critical piece in The Hollywood Reporter in 2023, it was revealed that Bryan's agricultural start-up was facing charges of fraud.
The company, Producers Market, predated Bryan's involvement — he became attached to them in 2018, based on his financial success through Bitcoin. And it seems that his use of cryptocurrency helped in the alleged fraud Bryan pulled off (the truth is, the world of Bitcoin has lots of scammers). Four different sources spoke to the Reporter about their allegations. One of them, Courtney Ledford, detailed how Bryan courted her about business opportunities, eventually extracting $5,000 from her in exchange for tokens. Others said that they gave Bryan more — up to $25,000. The contracts produced allegedly had no value, while Bryan's total haul from the scam allegedly was around $50,000.
Even Lost Lane has proved troublesome for the former child star. Radar Online reported that an investor sued over a fraudulent contract regarding the company's film "Warning." Bryan was ordered to pay over $108,000. As of June 2024, he was arguing in court that he was too "broke" to make the payment.