It must suck to be a former child star. Anytime the word “former” is applied to your general description when you’re only in your twenties, it’s probably a bad thing. “Former” star kind of implies that you were formerly awesome and now are much less so. “Former” drug addict implies that you used to have some really huge issues and now you’re probably better off – but it doesn’t imply success. So it seems like whether “former” is applied to something good or something bad, it still equals at least a bit of a stigma.

Hence the battle former child stars are always up against. The few that do well are notable. The lucky ones seem to fade into obscurity, though you can still imagine them refusing to wash the dishes or take out the trash because they just can’t handle ordinary stuff. But the least fortunate seem to battle serious addictions, money and family problems, and/or enjoy a few run-ins with the police.

And that is where our story leads us. Former Home Improvement actor Zachery Ty Bryan, 26, got into some sort of serious altercation at a hotel in April. Serious enough that he wound up getting tasered by one of the hotel’s managers – and now Bryan is suing them.

Zachery Ty Bryan, who played Brad Taylor on “Home Improvement” — is suing Choice Hotels International over an incident back in April 2008. Zach claims he was staying at a hotel in San Diego when he and a few friends went across the street to grab a Gatorade. When he came back just after midnight, Bryan’s lawyer claims the hotel wouldn’t let him upstairs, since the room wasn’t in his name.

Then things went really bad …

Bryan’s lawyer claims Zach tried explaining his wife was in the room, but the hotel refused to call her. He claims an off-duty manager, who was not involved in the initial argument, came out of nowhere and tasered Zach in the neck. Cops came but no charges were filed.

A hotel employee tells us Zach went nuts on the staff, a lot of alcohol was involved, and tasering the dude was the only safe bet.

Zach is suing for damages in excess of $25,000. A lawyer for the hotel had no comment.

[From TMZ]

This is one of those stories that you read and think “there is some serious stuff missing from this account.” Unless the hotel’s manager is a well-known lunatic, it seems rather unbelievable that he would just come up out of nowhere and taser a man – for what is implied to be no reason. And it seems equally odd that the hotel wouldn’t let him back in because his name wasn’t on the room. Either everyone at that hotel is batshit crazy, or one guy was really drunk. Hmmm…

Bryan isn’t the only Home Improvement child star to have some serious problems as a grownup. Taran Noah Smith, who played the youngest brother on the show, had some pretty public embarrassment when his trashed home was put on the market. TMZ got a hold of a video of the home, which the Realtor noted in the home’s listing notes was “Absolutely the worst house in a prime location.” It was trashed beyond recognition, in a manner that reeked of the results of drug use.

Stories like these make you glad you’re just a regular person.

Here is Zachery Ty Bryan and his wife Carly Matros at the ” Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift” premiere in Los Angeles on 6/4/06. Photographer : Nikki Nelson; Images thanks to WENN.