Randall William “Randy” Taylor (played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) — Randy (born February 8, 1982) is the middle child, ultimately the smartest of the three boys, and frequently the most mischievous troublemaker. Randy’s intelligence eventually led to him skipping ahead to advanced math and science classes, and was often the cause of sibling rivalry with Brad. He is the shortest Taylor boy and inherited Tim’s talents as a jokester. Whenever Tim was in trouble with Jill, Randy was always there with a quick remark that would almost always get him in trouble. Although initially sharing mostly the same interests as Brad and his father, throughout his adolescence Randy became very conscious about the environment and civil rights. He became very skeptical of the intentions of organized religion, especially Christian denominations, and became a vegetarian in later seasons. He wrote for the school newspaper, where he concentrated on social and political issues, including criticizing Binford for its pollution record, which led to a fierce disagreement with Tim. Unlike Brad who dated many different girls, Randy only dated one girl, Lauren, whom he remained with for the rest of the series. In the Eighth Season of the show, Randy leaves for Costa Rica(along with Lauren, who stayed in a nearby town), reappearing in only one episode when he came back for Christmas. On that occasion, Randy felt that so much had changed in his absence that he no longer fit in with the family, although confiding in Wilson aided his feelings. Unlike Tim, Randy is not good with his hands and does not enjoy working on crafts or the Hot Rod. Randy relates more with his mother, which whom he shares his intelligence and enjoyment of acting-although Tim embarrassed Randy during his acting scene with a malfunctioning stage prop.