Tim Allen Reveals He Obtained Emotional Reprising His ‘Home Improvement’ Role on ‘Last Man Standing’ (Distinctive)

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

In the course of the chat, Allen opened up about playing both of those his present-day role and a past purpose — Household Enhancement‘s Tim Taylor — on an future episode of Previous Person Standing, an encounter the 67-12 months-outdated actor known as “strange, creepy… [and] abnormal.” 

“It was incredibly peculiar to do both equally areas, I’ll inform you that. It was challenging for me to do both components and kind of emotional,” Allen admitted, revealing that his thoughts came, in massive element, for the reason that of Earl Hindman’s 2003 loss of life. Allen and Hindman co-starred on Property Improvement from 1991 to 1999, with the afterwards actor playing Wilson, Allen’s onscreen neighbor.

“I adored the person and we kind of brought that up in the story,” Allen stated. “I begun imagining about all the historical past I had with that Television present, how I evaluate it to my existence on this exhibit. It’s all about decline, is all I retained declaring in that episode.”

Aside from the emotion surrounding the death of his co-star, Allen uncovered the experience of playing both of those Tim Taylor and Mike Baxter “very difficult” for other factors as well.

“That was the first episode back,” he explained, alluding to the show’s production pause because of to COVID-19.  “So finding applied to no crowd, and then obtaining persons direct me in a character I developed 20 years in the past and then was variety of carried out with, it [was hard].”

Allen may perhaps have discovered the experience complicated, but Travis observed it as just a further working day on established.

“It was exciting and weird,” she reported of looking at Allen participate in two roles. “Actually, it was Tim’s problem. I just stood by and mocked him, so it was, frankly, really quick for me.”

Allen would not spill tricks about the plot bordering Tim Taylor’s appearance, but he did tease that his Dwelling Improvement and Final Guy Standing figures you should not just see eye to eye.

“Taylor shed his Television set demonstrate. Resource Time is above. He experienced a neighbor that handed absent. He is now working on the company facet of Bedford Tools. Which is what he does,” Allen spelled out. “Baxter’s helping Tim Taylor cope with modify… They are not wonderful to each other. They’re variety of antagonistic.”

While emotional and difficult, Allen praised the episode as becoming “a excellent concept” that introduced Tim Taylor “into this century, into this calendar year.”

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

Though Allen was restricted-lipped about the particulars of his twin job, he did give enthusiasts a trace of what to be expecting when Past Guy Standing returns for its ninth and closing season.

“By the time this airs… it will have been pretty much as the vaccine can take keep. We’re sort of not through it, but the gentle is shiny at the stop of the tunnel,” he reported of the pandemic’s function in the time. “We reference it. We don’t forget the pandemic. It is really utilized, but it can be as nevertheless our masks had just come off.”

The ninth and final time of Final Male Standing premieres Sunday, Jan. 3 on Fox. 

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