Meet Jonathan Taylor Thomas' Lookalike Older Brother Joel

ICYMI, Jonathan Taylor Thomas' last name actually isn't Thomas, it's Weiss. And, if you didn't know that, there's a chance you didn't know he has a brother either. The "Home Improvement" star has an older sibling named Joel Weiss, and they actually look remarkably similar. After shooting to fame, the once-popular '90s teen idol completely vanished from the spotlight, but he isn't the only member of the family to have had a pretty cool career (and we're not just talking about actor uncle Jeff Weiss). Jonathan's older brother Joel didn't go into showbiz, but he has worked in the basketball business pretty extensively, at one point with the NBA Development League's Austin Toros, at another serving as director of operations at Hoop Zone, and even as an assistant coach at the University of Texas Grande Rio Valley.

Because of their wildly different career paths, one would be forgiven for not immediately recognizing Joel as Jonathan's older brother. Of course, with the former actor no longer leading a public life, we aren't exactly inundated with pics of the brothers hitting the town, either. And, given that Joel also seems to prefer keeping a lower profile, there aren't many snaps of him even posing by himself. Regardless, when fans created a split image of the brothers using Joel's UTGRV staff picture, the similarities were hard to miss. Jonathan and Joel have very similar eyes, noses and mouths, and if not for their very different personal style (Jonathan sported a more casual look in his pic, while Joel was in a formal suit with his hair neatly coiffured), we don't doubt they'd look even more alike. Granted, not everyone was convinced, with one fan writing on Instagram, "Joel kinda looks like John Ritter." We can see it, but that's down to styling. 

Outside of their physical similarities, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Joel Weiss have something else in common: Their commitment to academics. As fans of the former "Home Improvement" cast member will likely already know, one of the major reasons why Jonathan Taylor Thomas left Hollywood was to focus on school. That certainly paid off, because after graduating high school, he went on to study at none other than Ivy League institutions Harvard and Columbia, alongside Scotland's St. Andrews University. Not too shabby! As for Joel, he seems similarly academically inclined. In UTGRV's profile of him, they noted that he holds not one, but two master's degrees. The first is in education, and the second in kinesiology. Prior to achieving his postgraduate qualifications, Joel also earned his initial degree in economics and government. 

It's also worth noting that both brothers are interested in sports. Jonathan even told the press that one of the highlights of going back to school was being able to attend football games. Prior to that, he also spoke about enjoying playing basketball with his friends, specifically because it allowed him to feel normal, rather than like a child star. As we've already established, Joel used his own love of basketball to forge a successful career, but he was also reportedly a talented footballer, with UTGRV describing him as "a two-sport athlete" who played in his first year at university, too. As such, it certainly sounds as though the Weiss brothers are all-rounders — and we're pretty impressed with how both of them have managed to pursue all of their interests.