Tim Allen on How His Shifting Gears Character is a Lot Like Himself: ‘I Enjoy So Much Being That Guy’ [Interview]

There’s a lot of Tim Allen in his character on the upcoming comedy series, Shifting Gears.

On Shifting Gears, Allen plays Matt Parker, a widowed car restoration shop owner whose estranged daughter returns home with her children after years apart.

I recently spoke with Allen about the new series, how his own personal trauma connects him to his character, and how he’s taking a more active role than ever behind the scenes.

Allen said what he likes most about his character on Shifting Gears is “how close it is to the guy that I play on stage when I’m doing live comedy.”

Allen reflected on the parallels between his own life and that of his character, from similar interests to coping with grief. “He builds custom cars; so do I. He lives in a very artistic world because he’s a design student that never got to design college because his father died, and he took over his machine shop.”

“He has a big gap in his emotional life because his wife passed away. And my father died when I was young, and my life has never really been on track to me because of that,” Allen said. “You get by trauma, but I don’t think you… I don’t get over it. And that guy’s in this. So underneath everything is some discomfort.”

“So it’s getting close to being me. It’s almost like it’s not that big of a step, but I enjoy so much being that guy.”

Allen also praised the on-screen chemistry he and Kat Dennings have together. “Kat Dennings, forget it. We hooked up like this,” he said, connecting his fingers. “Like father/daughter. We’re both the same type of smart-asses.”

Allen went on to describe how the dynamic between Matt and Riley might not be as similar to his own life, but it’s still incredibly relatable.

“I’m pretty close to both of my daughters. It’s never been like this,” he said, noting that there had, of course, been some times when things were “contentious,” but there was nothing like what Matt had gone through with Riley.

“[Riley] got married pretty much because it pissed [Matt] off. It’s just one of those things that people do. You do stuff just because your parents don’t like it.”

Allen said the balance of emotion and comedy makes Shifting Gears stand out.

“This is about restoring cars and restoring relationships, and I give it to the network and the writers; they’ve elevated this. It gets really emotional, and then it’s really funny. Our focus is getting you to accept these two [characters], and enjoy these 26 minutes of incredibly good writing, and the set design, and the cars.”

“It’s a sitcom! Linear TV! There’s commercials,” Allen added with enthusiasm. “I did it because I don’t think linear TV… it’s tired and it’s been stressed, but I don’t think it’s done.”

Allen is taking an especially active role behind the scenes of Shifting Gears, more so than he did on past projects. He noted that while he was an Executive Producer on Last Man Standing, that title was given “as a courtesy.” On Shifting Gears, that title means he’s heavily involved in the production. 

“I love lighting and the set design. I’m an old design student, so I love all that production,” Allen explained. “And they’re listening to me, and I’ve been making some decisions [with] set design.”

“I want this thing to be as high an art form as we can do. So I’m really involved in that,” he said. “And it’s gratifying, and fun, and… stressful!”

Shifting Gears premieres Wednesday, January 8th at 8/7c on ABC.

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