You probably remember the bowl cut. If you grew up in the 90s, Mark Taylor was the sensitive, youngest son on Home Improvement who spent most of his time being the punching bag for his older brothers, Brad and Randy. But then 1999 hit, the show ended, and Taran Noah Smith basically vanished.
Fast forward to Taran Noah Smith 2024, and the guy is barely recognizable. Honestly, if you saw him on the street, you wouldn’t think "sitcom star." You’d think "guy who knows a lot about marine engineering." Because that’s exactly who he is now.
The SpaceX Pivot: From Tool Time to Real Tools
While his former TV brother Zachery Ty Bryan has spent the last year dealing with a string of high-profile legal disasters, Taran has taken the polar opposite route. He didn't just leave Hollywood; he buried it.
As of late 2024 and heading into 2025, Taran Noah Smith is working for SpaceX. Yeah, Elon Musk’s rocket company. He’s not an astronaut, but his job is arguably cooler for someone who loves the ocean. He’s a Sea Recovery Technician.
What does that actually mean? Basically, when SpaceX launches a rocket and the boosters or capsules come splashing down in the ocean, Taran is part of the crew that goes out to get them. It’s a high-stakes, technical job that requires a lot of specialized knowledge about submersibles and marine recovery.
It’s a wild career shift. But if you’ve followed him closely, it sort of makes sense. Before the SpaceX gig, he was a technical manager for the Community Submersibles Project. He was literally teaching people how to pilot submarines in Monterey Bay.
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Why He Quit Acting (And Why He's Not Coming Back)
Most child stars struggle to let go of the limelight. They chase the next pilot or the next reality show. Taran? He was done at 16.
In a rare appearance on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling that started circulating again in late 2024, Taran looked back at his time as Mark Taylor. He explained that by the time the show ended, he’d been doing it for eight years—basically half his life.
"I never had the chance to decide what I wanted to do with my life," he once said. "When I was 16, I knew that I didn't want to act anymore."
He also cleared up that weird "goth" phase Mark had in the later seasons. You remember the black fingernails and the dog collar? Taran revealed that wasn't his idea. It was inspired by the head writer’s own son. Taran actually grew so fast that he ended up being taller than both of his "older" brothers, so the writers had to change his character's vibe because the "bullied little brother" trope didn't look right anymore when he was looming over them.
The Vegan Cheese and the $1.5 Million Trust Fund
You can't talk about Taran Noah Smith without mentioning the messy years. Most of the 2024 interest in him stems from how different his life is compared to the "troubled child star" narrative.
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He did have his moment of rebellion, though. At 17, he married Heidi van Pelt, who was 16 years his senior. It was a scandal at the time. They started a vegan cheese company called Playfood.
- The business specialized in cashew-based cheeses.
- It was actually ahead of its time for the early 2000s.
- The marriage ended in a pretty public divorce in 2007.
There was also the legal battle with his parents over his $1.5 million trust fund. He accused them of squandering his earnings to buy a mansion. They eventually reconciled, but it’s a reminder that even the "quiet" brother had some heavy lifting to do to get to the stable place he’s in now.
Is a Home Improvement Reunion Possible?
Tim Allen has been talking about a revival—something called Home Re-Improvement—for a while. He’s mentioned wanting to see what the kids’ kids would be like.
But here’s the reality for Taran Noah Smith in 2024: he’s probably the biggest hurdle. While Patricia Richardson (Jill Taylor) and Richard Karn (Al Borland) have stayed somewhat active or open to reunions, Taran has zero interest in being in front of a camera.
He’s 41 now. He has a long beard, shaggy hair, and a career in aerospace recovery. He’s living a life that is authentically his, far away from the "Mark Taylor" shadow.
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Where He Is Now: Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're looking for Taran today, don't check IMDB. Check the coast of California or South Texas near the launch sites.
What you should know about Taran Noah Smith today:
- Occupation: Sea Recovery Technician at SpaceX.
- Public Presence: Extremely private. He doesn't do "fan conventions" or Hollywood parties.
- Skills: Expert in submersibles and marine salvage.
- Legacy: He’s one of the few child stars who successfully "retired" and built a completely unrelated, high-level professional career.
If you want to support his current interests, look into marine conservation or community submersible projects. He’s proven that you don't have to be defined by what you did at age ten. Sometimes, the best way to handle fame is to just walk away and go find a submarine.
To keep up with other cast members, keep an eye on Tim Allen's new pilot Shifting Gears, which is where most of the Home Improvement DNA is heading in 2025. Just don't expect to see the youngest Taylor brother under the hood. He's busy catching rockets.