Comedic actor Tim Allen opened up about his prison stint for felony drug trafficking in the late 1970s, telling Closer magazine in a recent interview that it was his time behind bars that put him in a “position of great humility.”

The “Last Man Standing” star, 63, was arrested in 1978 at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport in Michigan for possession of cocaine, and he subsequently pled guilty to drug trafficking charges. He spent two years and four months at a federal prison in Minnesota before he was paroled in 1981.

“It was a watershed moment,” Mr. Allen told Closer in its newest issue. “It put me in a position of great humility, and I was able to make amends to friends and family and refocus my life on setting and achieving goals.”

In 1984, Mr. Allen married Laura Deibel and they had a daughter five years later. The stand-up comedian then became a household name after playing TV dad Tim Taylor on the hit series “Home Improvement” from 1991-1999. In 1998, he entered rehab for alcohol abuse after being charged with a DUI.

“I’m not the same guy I was the first time [I was married], when I was hiding and doing what people who drink too much do. I was not connecting,” Mr. Allen told Closer. “But I’ve been sober for almost 20 years. I’m much more present.”

“I’m 68 percent joyous, aiming for 70 percent,” he joked. “I’m also extremely grateful for where I am today.”

Mr. Allen and Ms. Deibel divorced in 2003, and three years later, he married Jane Hajduk. They now have an 8-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.

He joked that his daughters still don’t find him very amusing.

“The older one [28-year-old Katherine] will roll her eyes, and the younger one just stares at me — I think she’s done with me,” Mr. Allen. “But I still try to play jokes and make them laugh.”

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