‘Home Improvement’: Tim Allen Reveals Where Relationships With Kid Actors Stand Now

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Tim Allen opened up about his relationships with his Home Improvement child costars now.
He maintains connections with his former TV children, celebrating milestones like holidays and weddings.
Allen reflected on his real-life role as a father to two daughters.

Tim Allen recently opened up about where his relationships with his Home Improvement child costars stand today

In an interview with Us Weekly published on January 14, the actor who played Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor discussed fatherhood, both on and off TV.

“It was new to me, and it took a while for me to be that [father figure],” the actor, 72, said of his role as a mentor on sitcoms through the years. “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 his onscreen daughter, Kaitlyn Dever, however, it was a different dynamic.

“I was a mentor because I aligned myself with her comedy style,” Allen explained. “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.”
'Home Improvement' stars

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Recently, Dever surprised Allen on the set of Shifting Gears (also starring Kat Dennings as his daughter), showing how their bond has endured long after Last Man Standing ended in 2021. When asked if he had remained in touch with all of his TV kids, Allen gave a candid response.

“We do holidays, birthdays, weddings and unfortunately, funerals,” he revealed. “Their lives have moved on, [but] I’ve done the Buzz Lightyear voice for [their kids].”

Alongside Patricia Richardson as his wife, Jill, Allen played the Taylor patriarch for 8 seasons from 1991 to 1999. Zachery Ty Bryan took on the role of their oldest son, Brad, while Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Taran Noah Smith played their younger two sons, Randy and Mark, respectively.

In real life, Allen is the father of two daughters, Katherine, 36, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Laura Deibel, and Elizabeth, 16, whom he shares with his current wife, Jane Hajduk.

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