Jonathan Taylor Thomas Arrested After Allegedly Kicking Deputy

Former 'Home Improvement' star Jonathan Taylor Thomas was booked on obstruction and public intoxication charges after deputies say he interfered with a DUI stop and kicked an officer.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas, 45, whose legal name is Jonathan Taylor Weiss, was arrested early on Monday, Sept. 21, after the car he was riding in was pulled over in Westlake Village, California. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, deputies spotted the vehicle stopped at a green light blocking traffic at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard and Townsgate Road, found the driver appeared intoxicated, and began a DUI investigation with field sobriety tests. The driver was also arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Sheriff's officials told NBC News that Thomas, the passenger, also appeared intoxicated and 'continually exited the vehicle and approached the deputies, distracting them from their investigation.' The department stated that when deputies attempted to detain him for obstruction and public intoxication, Thomas kicked a deputy in the stomach.

Thomas was booked at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station on charges of obstruction and public intoxication. Jail records cited by TODAY show he was arrested at 1:50 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, and released at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, while records cited by USA TODAY indicate he was detained for nearly 36 hours. The sheriff's department said no charges have been filed yet and the case will be submitted to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration. A rep for Thomas had no comment, per TMZ, and reps did not immediately respond to today.com's request for comment.

The development stunned fans because Thomas has spent decades deliberately out of the spotlight after retiring from acting in the early 2000s. Page Six describes him as a reclusive 45-year-old who has been spotted on rare occasions, and whose last major headlines came from a July Instagram reunion photo with former 'Home Improvement' co-stars Patricia Richardson and Taran Noah Smith, captioned 'My other boys.' The actor told People in 2013 that he left fame to go to school and travel, saying 'I never took the fame too seriously. It was a great period in my life, but it doesn't define me.'

Thomas rose to fame as middle child Randy Taylor on 'Home Improvement,' appearing in more than 170 episodes from 1991 before leaving in 1998 to focus on school, according to USA TODAY. He voiced young Simba in Disney's 1994 'The Lion King' and starred in films like 'Tom and Huck' and 'Man of the House.' USA TODAY reports he returned for roles in 'Smallville,' '8 Simple Rules' and 'Veronica Mars,' and reunited with Tim Allen on 'Last Man Standing' in the early 2010s, with TODAY noting his last acting credit was a 2015 appearance and a 2016 directing job.

The arrest lands weeks after the nostalgic reunion that Richardson shared, and Page Six notes that on-screen brother Zachery Ty Bryan, 44, was absent from that photo and has had repeated legal troubles including multiple DUI and domestic violence arrests. Taran Noah Smith, per Page Six, quit Hollywood in 2002 and has worked as a submarine instructor and run a non-dairy cheese business.