Tim Allen is back on TV in his new ABC sitcom, Shifting Gears , and in a recent interview he likened working on the series to acting alongside the late Alan Rickman on Galaxy Quest for one reason. While it seems that the sci-fi parody and Allen's new grounded sitcom are worlds apart - literally - for Allen, there is definitely something that he feels about his newest venture that harkens back to the much-loved 1999 movie - the fun and chaotic working environment that drove Rickman to distraction.
Allen's new sitcom, which also stars MCU's Kat Dennings, has not been given the warmest welcome with its first reviews, landing "rotten" 44% and 46% Rotten Tomatoes scores from critics and audiences, respectively. This is a very different result to the stellar 90% Tomatometer score that Galaxy Quest landed over 25 years ago, when Allen was arguably at the height of his career.
However, it seems that working on the series is something that the actor has enjoyed very much, because he has been having the kind of fun that really annoyed Alan Rickman when they made Galaxy Quest. Allen told Collider:
"Daryl [Mitchell] and I worked on Galaxy Quest, and we're doing the same bits that caused the late, lovely Alan Rickman to constantly tell us, "Could you two just shut up and do the scene?!" He eventually learned to love both of us, but we were just BS-ing the entire time, and it's the same thing here. Five episodes in, and it was like this cast had been doing this for 10 years. I'm shocked at how we're working together and how much fun we're having entertaining everybody."
Alan Rickman Was Frustrated Filming Another Iconic Comedy Movie
While Allen may easily recall his ability to drive Rickman to distraction, he was certainly not the only one to have the effect on the much-loved Harry Potter star. When playing the role of Harry in Richard Curtis movie Love, Actually, Rickman came up against another "annoying" costar in Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson. In the movie, Harry is a man with a crush on his young colleague and, during a shopping trip, he sneaks away to buy her some jewelry. However, sales clerk Rufus, played by Atkinson, employs some time-consuming quirks that have Harry becoming increasingly agitated.
As it turns out, Rickman's frustration was a very real thing. While speaking during a Love, Actually reunion back in 2022, Curtis explained:
"Rowan was just taking his time, so he would do 11 minute takes. [Rowan would say], 'Let's go back and do that. Let's start again.' And poor Alan would be there all the time going, 'Grr, ugh.'"
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Of course, Rickman's annoyance was not something that caused any issues on set, and he was one of the most respected actors working in the industry at the time of his unexpected death almost 9 years ago on January 14, 2016. The fact that stars such as Tim Allen continue to remember Rickman fondly, so many years after their time working together, says all it really needs to about how any "annoyance" was just something that came as part of the package for those lucky enough to work with him.
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Galaxy Quest PG ComedyAdventure Sci-Fi Where to Watch stream rent buy
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*Availability in US Release Date December 25, 1999 Director Dean Parisot Runtime 102 minutes Cast Daryl Mitchell , Sam Rockwell , Sigourney Weaver , Tim Allen , Tony Shalhoub , Alan Rickman