Zachery Ty Bryan, who played the sharp-tongued son opposite father-acting Tim Allen on “Home Improvement,” was arrested Saturday night on a DUI offense after leaving the scene, TMZ reports.
The actor, who played a young Bradley Taylor for eight seasons between 1991 and 1999, was pulled over around 2:00 a.m. Saturday morning after officers spotted a damaged car they believed to be involved in an earlier accident that night. In their report, the cops say Bryan showed signs of impairment, leading to his arrest and booking at the La Quinta Sheriff’s Department in California.
Bryan’s booking was all the more serious because it was his third such arrest, as California law increases the penalty significantly for repeat DUI offenders. A third conviction is punishable by 3 to 5 years of probation, 120 days to 1 year in jail, $2,500 to $3,000 in fines, 30 months of DUI School, and a 3-year license suspension.
A history of DUIs is not Bryan’s only claim to criminal infamy. In October of 2020, he was held for seven days on charges of felony strangulation of his then-girlfriend at his apartment in Eugene, Oregon. TMZ reported at the time that responding officers found Bryan sitting outside his unit, hand on head, after getting into an argument with the woman and putting his hands around her neck. She told police that Bryan also attempted to take her phone away when she called for help. Bryan eventually pleaded guilty to fourth-degree menacing and assault while four other charges were dropped; he served three years probation and was ordered to complete a batterers intervention program.
In July of 2023, Bryan appeared to be busted for another domestic violence incident. Oregon police booked Bryan on felony assault in violation of the Abuse Prevention Act, or going after someone who had previously been granted a restraining order against him. Bryan fled the scene but was located later and locked up. While it’s unknown if the incident involved the same woman, TMZ also reported that Bryan is now engaged to the former girlfriend he battered in 2020 and shares children with her.
the 42-year-old’s star shined bright in the 90s while racking up youth awards for his portrayal of Taylor, the oldest son on “Home Improvement” who also most frequently ran afoul of his father. He managed a successful transition to teen heartthrob in the early aughts, making guest appearances in hit shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Smalltown”, and “Veronica Mars”. By 2009, Bryan had paused his acting career and tried his hand at producing a number of independent thriller movies. He returned to acting in 2022 as the President’s aide in the Netflix animated superhero television series, “The Guardians of Justice”.
