After decades of playing America’s favorite TV dad, Tim Allen is reflecting on what fatherhood, both on screen and off, has taught him, including where he now stands with the young stars who once played his sons on Home Improvement.
During a candid interview with Us Weekly, this week, Allen, 72, opened up about his long career portraying family men and how his perspective has evolved as both an actor and a parent.
‘The connection between Kat and myself is very similar to my older daughter and me,’ Allen told Us Weekly of his new ABC sitcom Shifting Gears, which stars Kat Dennings as his estranged on-screen daughter. ‘We used to disagree just naturally and then come back around.’
Allen currently stars as widower Matt Parker, whose quiet life is upended when his daughter moves back home with her children – a storyline that mirrors his own experiences raising daughters Katherine, 36, and Elizabeth, 16.
‘I don’t know what it’s like to have sons,’ he told Us Weekly. ‘I like being a father to girls.’
The actor, who first broke out as a stand-up comic, said his approach to sitcoms has changed with age.
Home Improvement starred (L-R) Zachery Ty Bryan; Tim Allen; Taran Noah Smith; Jonathan Taylor Thomas; and Patricia Richardson
‘I wanted to be a guy that’s dealing with grief and still active in life,’ he explained to the outlet. ‘[I was inspired by] people I really am amazed at in real life that have gone through so much suffering and still show up every day and are good to others. I wanted to honor that.’
Looking back at Home Improvement and Last Man Standing, Allen acknowledged that he wasn’t always prepared to be a mentor when he first found success.
‘It was new to me, and it took a while for me to be that [father figure],’ he said. ‘I felt like more of a funny, mischievous older brother for quite a while – especially to the boys on Home Improvement.’
By the time he starred opposite Kaitlyn Dever on Last Man Standing, his role on set had shifted.
‘I was a mentor because I aligned myself with her comedy style,’ Allen told Us Weekly. ‘I really was all about encouraging her the best I could. She listened – and I didn’t know that she was picking it up until every now and then in her scenes.’
Allen said he has remained in touch with many of his former TV children over the years.
‘We do holidays, birthdays, weddings and unfortunately, funerals,’ he shared. ‘Their lives have moved on, [but] I’ve done the Buzz Lightyear voice for their kids.’
Still, Allen admitted that mentoring young actors early in his career came with challenges.
; pictured in 2016 in Santa Monica
; Bryan is pictured in his mugshot from October 2024
‘When it was easy to be a TV parent, it’s easy,’ he said. ‘When it’s difficult to be a TV parent, you really are of no value. [With the] Home Improvement kids, it was so long ago and I was brand new… It wasn’t until later that I became more of a mentor. But they all had great parents.’
Allen’s comments come amid renewed attention on one of his former co-stars, Zachery Ty Bryan, who played eldest son Brad Taylor on Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999.
In November, Bryan, 44, spoke with TMZ about his difficult transition from childhood fame to adult responsibility.Â
Bryan told the outlet that ‘being thrust into the spotlight at nine-years-old brought pressures’ he ‘wasn’t equipped to handle.’
Still, he insisted ‘that’s no justification for’ his ‘choices as an adult.’
Cartwright was scheduled to appear at another hearing on December 18; (Bryan in 1998)Â
The actor has previously been arrested in connection with domestic violence, including a 2020 incident in Oregon that resulted in guilty pleas to menacing and fourth-degree assault.Â
A separate case in South Carolina remains ongoing.
In his statement, Bryan acknowledged that ‘domestic violence in any form is unacceptable,’ adding that he ‘deeply’ regrets the harm caused by his actions.
‘The truth is, I’ve struggled with the lasting effects of early fame, addiction, and poor decision-making,’ he said, calling the most recent situation ‘a painful wake-up call.’
Bryan also said he is pursuing therapy and enrolling in drug rehabilitation and anger-management programs, emphasizing that being judged as a parent has been particularly painful.
‘Being labeled a ‘bad dad’ cuts deep,’ he said. ‘My children are my world, and I know I’ve fallen short.’
Most recently, he was arrested for violating his probation, which stems from his second domestic violence conviction in 2023.
