Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson rose to fame when they starred as on-screen spouses in the hit 1990s sitcom “Home Improvement.”
The 69-year-old actor and the 72-year-old actress played Tim “The Toolman” Taylor and Jill Taylor for eight seasons from 1991 to 1999. It was the first acting role for Allen, who was previously known for his work as a stand-up comedian.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Richardson said that she didn’t believe Allen received enough recognition for his acting talent during his time on “Home Improvement.”
“People don’t give Tim enough credit for the acting that he did,” the “Strong Medicine” alum said.
She continued, “He had never acted before. He was getting acting lessons on the side.”
PATRICIA RICHARDSON SAYS CHEMISTRY WITH TIM ALLEN MADE HER TAKE THE PART ON ‘HOME IMPROVEMENT’
Prior to landing her breakout television role on “Home Improvement,” Richardson appeared in Broadway and off-Broadway productions as well a series of short-lived sitcoms. She told Fox News Digital that she immediately noticed Allen’s natural flair for acting from the first time they performed together.
“I’d worked in New York theater for years, and all actors sometimes have trouble listening,” Richardson said. “We’re self-conscious or we don’t know what we’re doing or we’re not really listening to the other person and just trusting ourselves to just respond.”
“Tim did that immediately,” she recalled. “Tim did that to such a degree that it scared him.”
Richardson continued, “Early on in the first couple of episodes, if I would cry about something — the first time that I did that — he was so listening, and he was always so involved and just bouncing back. We were always just so listening to each other and reacting that I saw tears starting to come out of his eyes.”
“And that totally freaked him out. And he stopped everything and just said, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute! She’s upset!'” the actress remembered with a laugh. “[Director John] Pasquin said, ‘She’s acting, Tim.'”
The Maryland native told Fox News Digital that she and Allen “immediately” connected and trusted each other. She also recalled coming to Allen’s defense several times during their early days on the show.
“I kept telling the guys who would like, bug him, and after our first couple performances, they would be on him,” she said. “And I would be like, ‘Why are you giving him such a hard time? He’s brilliant. He’s better than a lot of actors I’ve worked with that are really actors in New York who don’t even look at you, you know?'”
She continued, “So, I was like, ‘Stop. Leave him alone. He’s doing great.’ And I always think so.”
Richardson explained that “Home Improvement” explores some heaviest themes and storylines, which often demanded a wider range of acting from Allen than was required of other stand-up comedians-turned-actors.
“Obviously, Jerry Seinfeld was so charming and great,” she said. “But I don’t think you ever had to see Jerry do something serious, you know, like losing his parents or talking about the death of his father or dealing with lots of things that we deal with in that show.”
“Tim was right there for it always. And so it’s not surprising that he went on to a long career of doing a lot of movies and other shows.”
Allen was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards for best actor in a comedy series for his performance as Taylor, winning once in 1995. The “Toy Story” star also earned an Emmy Award nod for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series in 1993.
During her time on “Home Improvement,” Richardson received five Emmy Award nominations for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series and two Golden Globe Award nominations.
However, the actress told Fox News Digital that she was initially hesitant to take on the role of Jill. After appearing in three sitcoms that were canceled after one season, Richardson said she was “trying to get out” of the genre.
In addition, she shared that she “especially did not want to play a mother” because the roles were usually “thankless” at the time. However, her interest was piqued after learning that the show’s creators had also been involved with the development of “Roseanne.”
Matt Williams, who created “Roseanne” with Roseanne Barr, was one of the creators of “Home Improvement” along with Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean.
“When they told me that these guys that created the show were the guys that created ‘Roseanne,’ I went, ‘Oh, OK, my favorite show, my maybe favorite female character on television,’” she remembered. “And obviously, they can write women.”