Tim Allen Reveals He Received Emotional Reprising His ‘Home Improvement’ Role on ‘Last Guy Standing’ (Exceptional)

Tim Allen‘s return to a past character was not what he expected. ET’s Lauren Zima spoke with Allen and his Previous Gentleman Standing co-star, Nancy Travis, forward of the ninth and closing time premiere of their Fox sitcom.

During the chat, Allen opened up about enjoying both of those his present-day role and a earlier position — House Improvement‘s Tim Taylor — on an impending episode of Last Male Standing, an working experience the 67-12 months-outdated actor called “bizarre, creepy… [and] unusual.” 

“It was quite peculiar to do each components, I’ll tell you that. It was tough for me to do each parts and variety of emotional,” Allen admitted, revealing that his emotions came, in huge element, for the reason that of Earl Hindman’s 2003 death. Allen and Hindman co-starred on House Improvement from 1991 to 1999, with the afterwards actor playing Wilson, Allen’s onscreen neighbor.

“I adored the man and we sort of brought that up in the tale,” Allen said. “I began considering about all the background I had with that Television set display, how I look at it to my existence on this exhibit. It’s all about reduction, is all I saved indicating in that episode.”

Apart from the emotion bordering the demise of his co-star, Allen observed the knowledge of playing the two Tim Taylor and Mike Baxter “quite tricky” for other causes as well.

“That was the 1st episode back,” he stated, alluding to the show’s manufacturing pause owing to COVID-19.  “So obtaining employed to no crowd, and then obtaining folks immediate me in a character I developed 20 years in the past and then was sort of finished with, it [was hard].”

Allen might have discovered the working experience hard, but Travis saw it as just one more working day on established.

“It was fascinating and peculiar,” she mentioned of looking at Allen perform two roles. “Actually, it was Tim’s problem. I just stood by and mocked him, so it was, frankly, quite uncomplicated for me.”

Allen wouldn’t spill insider secrets about the plot surrounding Tim Taylor’s appearance, but he did tease that his Dwelling Improvement and Very last Person Standing characters never specifically see eye to eye.

“Taylor dropped his Tv set show. Instrument Time is over. He experienced a neighbor that passed away. He is now performing on the corporate facet of Bedford Resources. That is what he does,” Allen spelled out. “Baxter’s serving to Tim Taylor cope with improve… They are not awesome to each other. They’re type of antagonistic.”

While emotional and challenging, Allen praised the episode as being “a excellent notion” that introduced Tim Taylor “into this century, into this calendar year.”

“It really is seriously clever what they did with it,” he reported of the show’s writers.

Even though Allen was tight-lipped about the particulars of his twin part, he did give supporters a hint of what to count on when Last Guy Standing returns for its ninth and remaining season.

“By the time this airs… it will have been basically as the vaccine normally takes maintain. We are sort of not as a result of it, but the mild is bright at the stop of the tunnel,” he stated of the pandemic’s part in the season. “We reference it. We remember the pandemic. It’s used, but it really is as though our masks experienced just come off.”

The ninth and final year of Last Male Standing premieres Sunday, Jan. 3 on Fox. 

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