Home Improvement continues to be a fan favorite, despite being off air for decades. Interestingly, Richard Karn, who played Al Borland, recently revealed that he wasn't the first choice to play the role. His revelation came during a recent appearance on the 'Taboo's Comics & Kicks,' podcast.
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During the appearance, Karn noted that he already knew the team behind the hit sitcom before auditioning for the role.
"We became friends and years later I find out they're doing the show and I call them up, and they go, 'There's nothing for you but we'll bring you in. I mean, there's Tim Allen — I don't know if you know who Tim Allen is —' and I didn't," Karn said. "They wanted, you know, a diversity in between the two characters and [said], 'You're too much like him. That's why we never called you."
Actor Stephen Tobolowsky had originally been cast as Al. However, Tobolowsky landed another acting job in New York. Therefore he was unavailable for the shooting of the Home Improvement pilot episode. Of course, that then paved the way for Karn to step into Al's shoes.
"So, they asked me to do the pilot," Karn recalled. "So, I was just there for my friends Matt Williams, David McFadzian, Carmen Finestra, just, you know, filling in basically. And if the show got picked up, I understood I wasn't supposed to be going with it, but I was just there."
Richard Karn Knew His Role on 'Home Improvement'
As the podcast continued, Karn noted how his on-screen partnership with Tim Allen led to Al's character becoming more eccentric over time.
"I knew why I was there. I was there just to facilitate Tim's jokes," Karn admitted. "They watched the audience. They watched how I was working with Tim, how Tim was working with me, and they wrote that."
As the show became a hit, Al's role within the sitcom grew into an important piece of the puzzle. Looking back now, Tobolowsky must seriously regret passing up the opportunity. Still, there's no guarantee that the show would have reached the same level of success without Karn. He played his role perfectly.
