Exclusive: Tim Allen Shares His Thoughts on Retiring and the Magic of 'The Santa Clauses'

Scott Calvin is retiring as Santa Claus. Is art imitating life for Tim Allen?

Nearly 30 years ago, Tim Allen put on the suit and became "the big guy" in The Santa Clause. The 1994 Christmas classic starring Allen as Scott Calvin a.k.a. Santa went on to spawn two sequels, The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and now a limited series, The Santa Clauses.

Scott Calvin is back in the new Disney+ original series and ready to retire. Like his character from the holiday franchise, Allen, 69, has had thoughts of his own about retiring.

The Golden Globe winner shared in an exclusive interview with Parade.com that his "buddy Leno" says that retiring is "just another word for dying, waiting to die."

"And I go, 'Why did you say that?' Because sometimes I think of retiring. I go, 'I love what I do,'" Allen adds. "As long as I can do this, I'm not working, so I'm retired right now."

Continue reading to find out what Tim Allen told Parade.com about putting on his Santa suit once again and working with his youngest daughter, Elizabeth Allen-Dick, on The Santa Clauses—premiering Nov. 16 on Disney+.

Related: Everything to Know About The Santa Clauses

What was it like putting the suit on again?

Ha! I forgot how much I hated it.

Really?

Yeah, everything about it. The boots—hate the boots. Hate the pants. Hate the vest. Hate the jacket. Hate the beard. The hair I don't mind. The face. They've got the face—not so much heat putting it on, and they're much better at it, which I didn't think was possible ... Colonel Tom Parker, my good friend Woody, or as you guys call him Tom Hanks, he and I were showing each other pictures. Tom Parker [Hanks' character in Elvis], that was a lot of makeup. But when you don't have a beard, it has to be perfect. I think he said he was in it three, four hours? And Michael Dorn, another friend of mine, he's Worf [from Star Trek]. He's doing a new thing—and his was long.

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I have some good buddies in this. They got this down. They said they got it down to two hours. No one believed that they did and it looks spectacular. It's not as durable. I'm not at 100 percent for nine hours.

I'm learning how to set boundaries so I don't annoy people, because once I'm in it, I don't have much to say to anybody. Once I do my thing, I have to go find a chair. And they have a little place for me to sit and I don't say anything to anybody. I just kind of meditate cause I'm hot. I'm so freaking hot inside that suit! They've got a cooling thing going on that really works, but then you've got to hook it up, unhook it. All that being said, I'm better this fourth time around because I know what I'm getting myself into.

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You know what to expect. The last Santa Clause movie came out in 2006. Did you think you'd ever play this character again?

Nope! Absolutely not. Never gonna do that again, walking out of there [singing] "never doing this again." And I know Disney, and I know the powers that be, and some of the people had been very good to me on Last Man Standing when we switched from Disney to 20th [Century Fox] and now 20th got bought by Disney. So we brought great people that were very good with me creatively and they pitched. Said, "Would you be interested?"

I said, "What an odd idea. A movie?"

"Well, a TV show."

"TV show, but a movie to get you excited," but you know, it's a TV show kind of financially.

And I said, "Well..."

Related: Tim Allen on a Possible Last Man Standing Revival

It took a while to get it up to bat ... So I put together a team with their help. It was one day after a lot of work, Jack Burditt, the writer, said "How about this?" and incorporated some of my ideas, some of my concerns. I'm really good with plot,  [but] dialogue not so much, and they got it. That first episode, you're seeing it or have seen a version of it, and it sets everything up, and this is just a long movie to me. A six-hour movie. I don't view it as episodes. I view it more as chapters in a book. So the book chapter ends. It doesn't have a lead into the next. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. It all made it work. Then you throw all this in.

We get to see other characters. Originally we had the legendary characters, a lot of other of the previous actors and eventually, you can only do so much. And my kid, my youngest daughter [Elizabeth Allen-Dick] auditioned for an elf. I just wanted her to be, as a Christmas present to my entire family, "Look, Elizabeth is one of the elves in that one scene," and she read a couple of hard scenes just to audition. I had nothing to do with it other than I got her in there to be an elf, and so my kid's in it. She plays a 13-year-old kid. Sandra Claus is played by my youngest, who was 13 on the day she started the movie. It was too many serendipitous things.

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What was it like sharing the screen with her and working with her on this?

I have no words for it. It seems so natural when she's there. The fun thing was every now and then she'd run into Tim Allen as Santa Claus, not her dad. And I was distant from her. I'd go, "I'm eating!" or "I need some time by myself in my little dressing area." And she goes, "You're not kidding, are you?" "No, I'm not kidding. I don't want you here."

She was able to give me space as the actor playing Santa Claus. And very rarely did dad show up on set. I told her, "This is your path. You got here. You earned this. The better path is away from me. Now, if you misbehave around the crew or show disrespect for anybody, your dad will show up real quickly." And she didn't. She was a marvelous addition to this movie.

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Did you give her any acting tips?

Patricia Richardson, Jill on Home Improvement, taught me so much about listening: "Look into my eyes and listen to what I'm saying." She's a terrific actor. Terrific. That was the first lesson [from her] and the great late Earl Hindman—listen. Actors listen to respond. Don't get in your head. Listen to what the other person says and always add value to everything you do. Just add something. They'll tell you to bring it down or don't do that, but add something. I don't mean add words, but bring something to the part. And [Elizabeth] did it. I said, "Jeez, I don't have anything to do with that." I got out of her way.

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The Santa Clause is such a classic holiday film. Is this a movie that you and your family watch during the holidays?

We kind of have to. They always look at me. I say, "You don't have to watch it if you don't want to!"

I'm a freak. I'm a stand-up comic. I still can't believe I'm in the movies! That's what I do. That's what I've been doing for 35 years, is doing shows in Vegas, around the country. I love doing comedy. I can't believe I'm in the movies ... I watch Galaxy Quest, every time it's on I watch it and do my own voice. "Here, watch this part! Watch what I say here." I know what Sam Rockwell's gonna say. Tony Shalhoub. I know everybody's act.

But I love White Christmas a lot. I really like White Christmas, the military part of that, and Home Alone. I love that movie ... And then I watch No. 1 and most of No. 2 [of The Santa Clause] 'cause there are parts of those movies that are just spectacular.

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Scott is retiring in the series ... Is this a character that's hard to say goodbye to if it is the end?

Yes. It is so much like my life. I started putting too much into stuff. And then I think about retiring. My buddy Leno says, "I don't know what, retiring's just another word for dying, waiting to die," and I go, "Why did you say that?" Because sometimes I think of retiring. I go, "I love what I do." As long as I can do this, I'm not working, so I'm retired right now.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Next, check out the best Christmas episodes and holiday specials to watch this season.