For many who grew up watching TV in the 1990s, Zachery Ty Bryan was a familiar face—the mischievous Brad Taylor on the beloved sitcom Home Improvement. But in recent years, Bryan, now 44, has become more closely associated with a string of legal troubles than with his early acting success. His latest run-in with the law has landed him a 16-month jail sentence, capping off a tumultuous period marked by repeated arrests, struggles with addiction, and the lingering effects of childhood fame.
On February 23, 2026, Bryan appeared in a California courtroom, where he pleaded guilty to a felony DUI charge stemming from a February 2024 arrest in La Quinta. According to court documents reviewed by Entertainment Weekly, Fox News Digital, and TMZ, Bryan admitted to driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.15%—nearly double the legal limit of 0.08%. As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, he also acknowledged two prior DUI convictions, a factor that led the judge to deny probation and impose a harsher sentence.
The actor was sentenced to 16 months in county jail, with credit for time already served—variously reported as 27, 26, 53, or 57 days, depending on the source and how California Penal Code Section 4019 was applied. Even with those credits, Bryan will serve well over a year behind bars. Two additional charges, including hit-and-run and property damage, were dismissed as part of the deal, according to Fox News Digital.
This most recent conviction is just the latest in a series of legal and personal setbacks for Bryan. Since 2020, he has been arrested at least six times across several states, with charges ranging from DUI and driving without a valid license to domestic violence, felony assault, and robbery. The saga began in October 2020, when Bryan was arrested in Lane County, Oregon, after an altercation with his then-girlfriend. He was initially charged with felony strangulation, fourth-degree assault, and interfering with making a police report. Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor menacing and assault, serving seven days in jail and receiving 36 months of bench probation along with mandatory participation in the Bridges2Safety program (Us Weekly).
Legal troubles continued to follow Bryan. In July 2023, he was arrested in Eugene, Oregon, on charges of fourth-degree felony assault, third-degree robbery, and misdemeanor harassment after a reported physical altercation with another woman. He pleaded guilty to felony assault constituting domestic violence, resulting in a negotiated sentence of seven days in jail and 36 months of supervised probation, with the more severe charges dropped (Fox News Digital and NewsNation).
The following year, Bryan was arrested twice for DUI—first in La Quinta, California, in February, and then in Custer County, Oklahoma, in October 2024. In the Oklahoma case, police said Bryan was driving without a valid license, and he was booked at 8:34 a.m. on October 25, as reported by Fox News Digital. Just three months later, in January 2025, he was charged with second-degree domestic violence in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And in November 2025, Bryan was again arrested in Lane County, Oregon, for allegedly violating his probation related to his prior domestic violence conviction. This arrest resulted in five separate charges: three counts of reckless endangering, one count of DUI, and one count of attempted first-degree assault (Entertainment Weekly).
In addition to the jail time, Bryan faces a probation violation hearing in Oregon scheduled for March 2, 2026, according to PEOPLE. This hearing is connected to his 2023 domestic violence conviction, and its outcome could further impact the length and terms of his incarceration.
Reflecting on his troubled path, Bryan has publicly acknowledged the toll that early fame and personal struggles have taken on his life. In November 2025, he told TMZ, "Being thrust into the spotlight at nine years old brought pressures I wasn't equipped to handle," adding, "that's no justification for my choices as an adult." He continued, "The truth is, I've struggled with the lasting effects of early fame, addiction, and poor decision-making, which have hurt people I care about and led to repeated legal issues, including DUIs and past domestic incidents."
His former TV dad, Tim Allen, offered his own perspective in a 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter: "All you can do is step aside and let somebody go through their process. At a certain point, he deviated from the guy I know to somebody who is reacting to situations that I had nothing to do with and can't control." Fellow Home Improvement star Richard Karn also suggested to Fox News Digital that Bryan's early exposure to fame may have contributed to his struggles with substance abuse and domestic violence.
Bryan's acting career began early and was marked by success. He played Brad Taylor, the eldest son on Home Improvement, from 1991 to 1999, working alongside Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson. After the show ended, Bryan took on roles in films like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and guest-starred on series such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, and ER. He retired from acting in 2009 but briefly returned for a small role in Netflix's The Guardians of Justice in 2022.
Despite his early promise, Bryan's adult years have been overshadowed by legal battles and the personal fallout from addiction. His story has become a sobering example of the pressures that can accompany child stardom—and how those pressures, if left unaddressed, can lead to destructive choices and lasting consequences. As Bryan faces his latest sentence and prepares for yet another court date, his journey remains a cautionary tale for those navigating the pitfalls of fame and personal adversity.
For families and individuals affected by domestic violence, resources and support are available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or on their website. Bryan's ongoing legal saga is a reminder that behind the headlines are real people, real pain, and, sometimes, the hope for redemption.