By India McCarty
Tim Allen recently reflected on his turbulent past and why he should’ve chosen going into the military over going to prison.
“I love [nonprofit] Wounded Warriors, I love helping our vets, I love anything I can do,” Allen said during an appearance on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!, then joked, “I should have gone into the military rather than prison. I had a choice, and prison is the way I went.”
The actor added, “It is the same sort of thing — food is kind of weird and you have to wear a uniform and all that.”
Related: Tim Allen Reveals How Sobriety Changed His Relationship With His Daughters
Allen has been open about his past, telling Marc Maron during an episode of his podcast, “After my old man died, I really just played games with people and told adults what they wanted to hear and then stole their booze.”
The actor’s father died in a car accident when he was just 11 years old, and by then, Allen says, he “was lost.”
He was arrested at 25 and was sent to federal prison for two years and four months.
“I just shut up and did what I was told,” Allen said of his time in prison. “It was the first time ever I did what I was told and played the game…I learned literally how to live day by day. And I learned how to shut up. You definitely want to learn how to shut up.”
He continued, “I don’t say this lightly and anybody who has been incarcerated [knows], it’s surprising what the human being will get used to. Eventually after eight months, I got used to it. There were okay times. Saturday we got better food. Eventually, I went from a holding cell arrangement to my own cell.”
Allen eventually got sober, which he is “grateful” for, saying, “I love my life.”
In an interview with Closer Weekly, the HOME IMPROVEMENT star shared, “I have nothing but gratitude [for my sobriety]. Somebody said if you’re going to do things that you have to say you’re sorry for tomorrow, don’t do it. So I don’t do things like that. It’s been a struggle because not being able to hide behind drugs and alcohol was difficult for me. Now I deal with stuff. It’s moment by moment.”
“It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a day-to-day thing,” Allen said during an episode of THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW. “But giving back what somebody gives you…I see this happen right here, this is a miracle.”
Allen’s story is proof that it’s never too late to change the path you’re on and make better decisions.
Read Next: How Erika Kirk Inspired Tim Allen to Forgive His Father’s Killer
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