Tim Allen Reveals He Almost Had a 'Nervous Breakdown' on 'The Santa Clauses'

It's not easy being holly or jolly all the time, as Tim Allen was reminded while making The Santa Clauses. The new Disney+ series finds the Last Man Standing star returning to the role of Scott Calvin 16 years after The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause opened in theaters. The Santa Claus transformation was so difficult that Allen had a "nervous breakdown" before the cameras rolled.

Allen's experience in the makeup chair was the "worst part" of becoming Santa Claus. The makeup team had to make a mold of his face, which was more complicated than he would like. "You have to make a plaster of my face and I almost had a nervous breakdown because they put a heavy liquid plaster over your face to get an image and you gotta sit there for 30 minutes as it hardens with two straws up your nose," Allen told Us Weekly. "Not a good experience. And the people that did it said a lot of people don't make it through the 15 [minute mark]. It's kind of a torture test."

The costume department also has not made any great strides in creating a more comfortable Santa outfit, Allen said. "The suit is not any better technically than it was when I first started. It is just heavy, heavy, very hot," the Home Improvement star said. Thankfully, they did figure out a way to make it take half as long to get Allen into the costume as it took back in 2006.

After about six hours of working in the costume, it becomes "very hot" and uncomfortable, Allen said. "There's no relief for it," he said. This is why he stays quiet between scenes. He has nothing against his colleagues, it's just very difficult to do anything in the heavy costume. "Once I got back into it, I learned how to be there, learned what I could and could not eat, would and couldn't, could not drink and it was better. I'm a pro," he said. "I signed on to do this and I'm going to do it."

The Santa Clauses is a six-episode series. The first two episodes will be released on Disney+ on Nov. 16. Scott is about to turn 65 at the start of the show, and he realizes he cannot be Santa forever. Elizabeth Mitchell returned as Scott's wife, Carol. Kal Penn, Eric Lloyd, and Matilda Lawler also star. Allen previously played Scott in The Santa Clause (1994), The Santa Clause 2 (2002), and The Escape Clause (2006).

"He's a generous comedian," Mitchell said of her co-star. "He wants other people to be funny and he wants them to feel fulfilled and it's really important to him and he cares. He's a live wire but also a very constant joy." 

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