A surprising behind-the-scenes detail about “Toy Story” has quietly remained under wraps for years, until now.
Since 1995, Tom Hanks has famously voiced Woody in the “Toy Story” franchise, but he occasionally has a stand-in. Keeping it in the family, his younger brother Jim Hanks steps in when the Oscar-winning actor is unavailable.
Tom Hanks’ Brother Jim Spilled the Family Secret
Jim Hanks, a guest on the “Love It” podcast, revealed that he has voiced the beloved toy cowboy for many years. However, his character work doesn’t cross one hard line.
Tom is the main actor in all five current “Toy Story” films. These include 1995’s “Toy Story,” 1999’s “Toy Story 2,” 2010’s “Toy Story 3,” 2019’s “Toy Story 4,” a spinoff film, 2022’s “Lightyear,” and “Toy Story 5” set to be released this year. However, Jim has stepped in for projects outside of the main film franchise, including video games and toys.
Jim revealed, “The first thing I ever did was one of the pull-string toys from the first movie where he’s saying ‘You’re my favorite deputy’ and ‘There’s a snake in my boot’ and stuff like that. They had processed the voice so much that they needed a cleaner [version], so I come in and do it.”
He continued by saying that he tries to keep Woody’s voice very similar to his brother’s so fans don’t notice the difference. However, he joked, “I used to say that my Woody is my impression of Tom yelling at his kids. ‘Get down from there!’ is the same as ‘Buzz!'”
Jim Hanks Was Also Tom’s Body Double in ‘Forrest Gump’
Along with his work in the “Toy Story” franchise, Jim Hanks was also his brother Tom Hanks’s body double in the six-time Academy Award-winning film, “Forrest Gump.” Tom took home an Oscar for Best Actor for the title role in the 1994 film.
“I have said to my brother that I felt really fortunate to be part of that,” Jim began. “It was the first time I had done anything like that with Tom.”
He continued, “It was a strange experience. I had never been involved with anything that was that big. Pretty much all that running stuff, if you can’t see his face, it’s me. If you can see his face, it’s obviously him.”
“Every time I watch the movie, I’m going, ‘Me, me, me, Tom,’ ” he continued, adding, “I feel really fortunate to have had any part of it.”
Jim recalled one particularly challenging moment during filming. He said, “I was running along this road, and the camera is on the other side of this field, but the cows kept looking at the camera. I was running, and they said, ‘The cows keep looking at the cameras.’ “
Production suggested that when Jim ran, he should make noise so the cows would look at him. “[They said], ‘When you’re running, can you yell and whoop and whatever to get them to look at you?’ So I’m running like, ‘Hey, cow! Cow!’ I’m trying not to look like I’m just screaming at the top of my voice as I’m doing the Gump trot.”
A fifth “Toy Story” installment, with Woody voiced by Tom Hanks and co-starring Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, hits theaters on June 19, 2026.
