Toy Story 6 Actors Almost Cast As Woody And Buzz Lightyear

1995 saw the release of Toy Story, a film that completely turned the industry on its head for a number of reasons. For starters, it was the first film in history to be entirely computer-animated, using a technology that completely reshaped the future of cinema. At the same time, it was Pixar’s first feature film, and since its release, the animation studio has emerged as one of the industry’s powerhouses. Toy Story is set in a world where toys come to life when humans are not watching, and follows a group of toys led by Woody, their owner’s favorite. However, this cowboy’s peace is disturbed when a new toy threatens to steal Andy’s attention: Buzz Lightyear, a space action figure.

Being an animated film, it was extremely important to find the right actors to bring each of the characters to life. The ones chosen to play Woody and Buzz were Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, both of whom were widely acclaimed for these roles, alongside artists such as Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, and Annie Potts, among many others. Hanks and Allen also led the cast in the remaining Toy Story films in the franchise, released in 1999, 2010, and 2019. Still, for Lightyear, the 2022 film expanding on the backstory of the astronaut who inspired Buzz’s action figure, producers decided not to bring back Allen to voice the character, and instead cast Chris Evans, something that was highly controversial and met with backlash from fans.

Nowadays, Woody and Buzz Lightyear are so closely tied to Hanks and Allen that it is very difficult to imagine how the characters would have turned out if they had been played by other actors. Of course, as in every movie, defining the cast was quite a process, and producers offered the roles of the cowboy and the spaceman to several Hollywood stars. Here are some of the actors who were almost cast as Woody and Buzz.

6 Paul Newman — Woody

     Warner Bros.  

When it came to choosing actors for the role of Woody, the producers’ initial idea was to select an actor associated with the Western genre who had already portrayed cowboy characters throughout his career. For that reason, they offered the role to Paul Newman, who starred in films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Pocket Money. Although it would have been interesting to see Newman’s Woody, it was not possible as the actor eventually turned down the offer. Some years later, however, he took on a different role in one of the company’s films: he played Doc Hudson, the retired race car in the Cars film series.

5 Billy Crystal — Buzz Lightyear

     Columbia Pictures  

Billy Crystal’s story was slightly different than Newman’s. The actor was also among Pixar’s top choices to play Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story. However, the reason Crystal turned down the role had to do merely with a personal matter: he didn’t believe he had the right voice to suit the character, and, as such, he didn’t envision himself in the film. Nonetheless, he considers this decision to be one of the biggest mistakes of his career, and deeply regrets not taking the role. Fortunately, a few years later, he finally got a second chance with Pixar, much more aligned with his style: he voiced Mike Wazowski in the movie Monsters, Inc.

4 Robin Williams — Woody

     Miramax Films  

In 1992, Disney’s Aladdin was released and quickly became a box-office hit. This was partly due to Robin Williams’ performance, who voiced the Genie. As a result of this huge success, the actor was among the first candidates to voice Woody as the Toy Story cast was being defined. However, following Aladdin, Williams had an argument with Disney, as they did not comply with his requests regarding the use of his voice in some of the products they released for sale (via ITM). This may have been the reason why, upon receiving the offer for Toy Story, Williams decided to turn it down.

3 Chevy Chase — Buzz Lightyear

Actor and comedian Chevy Chase was also among the actors who were offered the role of Buzz Lightyear. Chase, known for starring in productions such as Three Amigos! and the National Lampoon’s Vacation film series, ended up turning down the role upon his agent’s advice, even though he really wanted to participate. The fact that he declined the offer was ultimately what convinced Allen to accept it, as he considered Chase to be a major influence on his career.

2 Clint Eastwood – Woody

     Produzioni Europee Associate  

As was the case with Paul Newman, Pixar considered Clint Eastwood for the role of Woody for being one of the most acclaimed actors in the Western genre, and his name was among the most sought-after for the role, since his involvement in the film would undoubtedly ensure a smashing success. However, the actor, known for films such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Dirty Harry, did not accept Pixar’s offer, which eventually led to the role falling into Hanks’ hands, who ended up bringing the iconic cowboy to life.

1 Jim Carrey — Buzz Lightyear

     Paramount Pictures  

Jim Carrey was one of the actors with a good chance of playing Buzz Lightyear. At the time, his career was on the rise, and one year before the premiere of Toy Story he starred in several landmark films, such as The Mask, Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. While many people believe that Carrey turned down the role because of salary issues, the reality was different: according to what Joss Whedon, the film’s co-writer, commented for David Lavery and Cynthia Burkhead’s book Joss Whedon: Conversations, Carrey was not yet that famous, and Disney was looking for a more established star for the role.