Tim Allen has opened up about the difficulties he faced in taking on a mentorship role for his on-screen sons during his time on Home Improvement.

“It was a new experience for me, and becoming that father figure took some time. I initially felt more like a humorous, mischievous older sibling, particularly with the boys on Home Improvement,” Allen, 72, shared in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, referring to his co-stars Zachery Ty Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Taran Noah Smith.

Allen reflected on the lessons he garnered during that period.

“When playing a TV parent is straightforward, it’s easy. But when it becomes challenging, you find yourself somewhat ineffective,” he remarked, discussing how some of his co-stars endured “deep personal traumas” in their lives. “With the Home Improvement kids, it was such a long time ago, and I was just starting out, making it hard for me to truly be a mentor or guide.”

Who doesn’t remember the iconic catchphrase, “Does everybody know what time it is?” from Home Improvement? This popular ABC sitcom, which ran from September 1991 to May 1999, featured Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Tim Allen) as the host of a home-improvement show called “Tool Time,” despite his lack of expertise in the field.

Allen continued: “It was very difficult to step in and it wasn’t until later that I became more of a mentor. But they all had great parents.”

Allen got his sitcom start on Home Improvement, which ran from 1991 to 1999 and also starred Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Smith, Bryan, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning. The comedian continued to find success playing Mike Baxter in Last Man Standing from 2011 to 2021 before returning to TV alongside onscreen daughter Kat Dennings in Shining Gears.

“On Last Man Standing with Kaitlyn Dever, I was a mentor because I aligned myself with her comedy style,” Allen continued. “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.”

After playing a sitcom dad on multiple shows, Allen continued to remain in touch with his TV kids, telling Us, “What we do is holidays, birthdays, weddings and unfortunately funerals. Their lives have moved on [but] I’ve done the Buzz Lightyear voice for [my costars’ kids].”

Allen previously teased whether his former onscreen kids could appear on Shifting Gears.

Tim Allen‘s hit ABC sitcom Shifting Gears has allowed him to bring in numerous former cast members from Home Improvement. Before playing a widower on Shifting Gears, Allen got his sitcom start on the latter show, which ran from 1991 to 1999 and also starred Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Patricia Richardson, Taran Noah Smith, Zachery Ty […]

“Everything is a possibility,” he shared in January 2025 with Us before addressing a possible appearance from Thomas after he took a step back from the spotlight. “He just came back [to the last episode we filmed]. He showed up on the set.”

Allen said he would love nothing more than to share the screen with Thomas again. “He’s literally my kid. I raised that kid for eight years on Home Improvement,” he added. “All of these are my kids, and I’m kind of sick about this.”

At the time, Allen recalled the close bonds he formed with his onscreen kids throughout the years.

“[My former onscreen wife] Nancy Travis once told me [something] after I called her during Last Man Standing. I said, ‘Have you talked to the girls [who play our daughters] over the summer?’ Then there’s this long pause and she goes, ‘Tim, these aren’t our daughters and I’m not actually your wife,’” he quipped. “She was so wonderful about it because sometimes when they were having trouble on the show, I’d go, ‘How do you think they feel?’ And she would respond, ‘Tim, they’re actors. We just read [what is on the page but] she’s not really that sad.’”

Shifting Gears airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.