What do Tim Allen and Tom Brady have in common? An epic comeback story, according to Tim “The Toolman” Taylor himself.
“[People] love it,” Allen, who played Tim Taylor on Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999, exclusively told Us Weekly of the show’s success while attending Cirque du Soleil’s KOOZA Los Angeles premiere on Thursday, October 24.
Allen, 71, then compared his TV resurgence to Brady’s second act in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “I’m still thinking about Last Man Standing,” the actor said. “They did that one for nine years, and now I feel like Tom Brady. I’m doing another one.”
Following his tenure on Home Improvement, Allen focused on movies for more than a decade before coming back to TV with Last Man Standing in 2011. He played another family man, Mike Baxter, for nine seasons before the show wrapped in 2021.
Does everybody know what time it is? That was the famous phrase that came out of Home Improvement, the ABC sitcom that aired from September 1991 to May 1999. The 30-minute comedy followed Tim “The Toolman” Taylor (Tim Allen) as he hosted a home-improvement show titled “Tool Time,” even though he’s not at all a […]
Allen then reprised his Disney role as Scott Calvin and Santa Claus in The Santa Clause franchise for Disney+’s The Santa Clauses series from 2022 to 2023.
The Emmy nominee’s return to the small screen is on par with Brady’s own career arc. The former quarterback played for the New England Patriots for 20 years before moving to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tim Allen, Richard Karn and Pamela Anderson in ‘Home Improvement’ ABC
Brady, 47, announced his retirement from the sport in February 2022 after winning seven Super Bowls (six with the Patriots and one with the Bucs). He surprised fans when he unretired the following month, playing one more season before officially saying goodbye in February 2023.
While Brady has hung up his cleats and is now a broadcaster for Fox Sports, Allen isn’t looking to retire from TV roles anytime soon.
“I’m very grateful to be working, being able to entertain. That’s what I love to do,” Allen told Us on Thursday, before discussing his latest project, Shifting Gears.
The comedy, which will premiere in 2025, features Allen as a widower who owns a classic car workshop. Kat Dennings plays his daughter, who shows up at his house with her teenage daughter causes hilarity to ensue.
“It’s been a tremendous experience,” Allen shared. “Our pilot killed [it], so they’ve ordered a season, and we’ve been shooting it for about four days.”
Elizabeth Allen-Dick, Tim Allen and Jane Hajduk at Cirque du Soleil’s ‘KOOZA’ Red Carpet Abaca Press/INSTARimages
While fans are excited to see Allen in another show, many are waiting for news on Toy Story 5, which is set to premiere in 2026. (Allen has voiced Buzz Lightyear alongside Tom Hanks’ Woody in four Toy Story movies thus far.)
“I can’t tease anything. I can’t talk about [it],” Allen confessed. “Disney has mentioned it. We’re all getting set to do it, and I’m not allowed to say anything about it.”
Another project he played coy about is a possible Home Improvement revival. When Allen was told that his former costar Patricia Richardson said she’s in for a reboot — meaning maybe he can be too — Allen laughed and said, “There you go!” (Richardson played his TV wife, Jill Taylor.)
No matter what Allen does next, he told Us that he always considers his family when taking on work.
“I’ve been defined by a very big, large family. My wife Jane’s got a large family, and now we have two [kids],” he said, referring to Jane Hajduk and their daughter, Elizabeth, 15, as well as his eldest daughter, Katherine, 34, from his first marriage to Laura Deibel. “My life has been defined by my family”.
He concluded, “Every story I do on stage, playing comedy for 40 years [and my] stand-up is really centered around my family.”
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
