The Pitt‘s Luke Tennie opened up about how meeting Tim Allen left him completely starstruck.
“I’m just such a fan of excellence. The people who I admire just being here, it feels like an honor to me,” Tennie, 31, exclusively told Us on Monday, September 14, on the 2026 Emmys red carpet. “But you know what? The last time I fell out was last night when I met Tim Allen.”
Tennie had a great experience after being a fan of Allen’s sitcoms, adding, “He did the Home Improvement giggle and I lost my mind. Are you kidding me? I was shaking infinity and beyond right there in that handshake. So yeah, I can die 1789749072.”
After beginning his career as a comedian in the ’70s, Allen, 73, played Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on the ABC’s Home Improvement and later portrayed Mike Baxter on Last Man Standing. He made his sitcom return last year on ABC’s Shifting Gears, which he has since hinted could be his last project.
“I love what I do. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t do this,” he explained to Us in 2022. “To me, I’ve got a bunch of buddies that like to fish. Not a big fisherman. I can’t sit around. Golf is more of — I worked harder at golf than I’ve ever worked in any job. It’s so much stress. [Jay] Leno and I both agree. I love it. I love what I do. It’s not [work] at all [to me]. So this is what I’d like to do.”
Allen noted that taking a break was not on his radar — but then walked that comment back. “This probably will be the end of it,” he revealed to USA Today in February 2025. “That sounds depressing, but I did [Shifting Gears] because it seemed like a good idea that would be fun. That’s really it.”
Allen admitted it would be hard to slow down at this point in his career, adding, “I just love being around the camera people and actors and the crew, so much so that I’m more uncomfortable at the thought of leaving the set and, God forbid, going to play golf.”
Tennie, meanwhile, is booked and busy with roles in Shrinking, The Pitt and Abbott Elementary.
“It feels good,” he told Us before quipping, “I’m glad to be employed.”
The actor is excited for where his characters go from here, saying, “They don’t tell me nothing. But what I can tell you is — from the perspective of Shrinking — we really had people crying a lot. I think people gonna be crying a lot more from laughing.”
He concluded: “There are just some of the funniest jokes I’ve ever read have been in these recent scripts. Like, just really clever, witty stuff. So buckle your seatbelt and have a box of tissues there.”
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