By Michaela Gordoni
TV star Tim Allen says his experience as a father inspired his latest role on SHIFTING GEARS.
He also played a dad in HOME IMPROVEMENT, LAST MAN STANDING and several other projects.
The father of two said of his time on the shows, “It was new to me, and it took a while for me to be that [father figure]. I felt like more of a funny, mischievous older brother for quite a while — especially to the boys on HOME IMPROVEMENT.”
“On LAST MAN STANDING with Kaitlyn Dever, I was a mentor because I aligned myself with her comedy style,” he recalled. “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.”
In SHIFTING GEARS, he plays dad to an estranged adult daughter, played by Kat Dennings.
Related: SHIFTING GEARS: Episode 1.1: “Restoration”
“The connection between Kat and myself is very similar to my older daughter and me,” Allen told Us Weekly. “We used to disagree just naturally and then come back around.”
The father and daughter characters have similar personalities. “So when they butt heads, it’s just very, very funny,” Dennings said previously.
Their characters don’t always enjoy each other’s company, but the actors do.
“Kat’s so freaking talented,” Allen shared. “We’re born on the same day, which is kind of weird. Certainly different ages!”
Dennings said, “Tim’s a really amazing actor, and I’ve told him this to his face, so I’m definitely happy to say it in print!”
Allen believes he’s a better dad now, at 72, because he’s learned how to listen better.
“It’s a long history of learning how to listen,” he said previously. “We’ve had misunderstandings based on really dumb conversations.”
His oldest daughter is in her 30s, and his youngest is 15.
“My first daughter, unfortunately, was not around a sober guy. My second daughter was never anywhere near that,” he admitted. “So they are very different relationships.”
Allen knows he didn’t do everything right, but he’s grateful to learn from his many mistakes.
He said, “Somebody said, ‘If you’re going to do something you have to say sorry for tomorrow, don’t do it.’ So I don’t do things like that. Not being able to hide behind drugs and alcohol was difficult for me, but now I deal with stuff, moment by moment.”
SHIFTING GEARS Season 2 is about to wrap up on Feb. 4 with its last episode, titled “Surprise.”
Read Next: Kat Dennings Joins Cast of Tim Allen Sitcom SHIFTING GEARS
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