Tony Hale Worried He’d Be Replaced in Toy Story 4 by a ‘Huge Star’

Tony Hale admits he didn’t know he actually made it in the final cut of Toy Story 4 until the film’s trailer was released.

The actor who voices Forky in the 2019 animated pic recently told People magazine that he worried he might have been replaced by a “huge star” in the movie, despite reading for the role.

“It wasn’t until I heard my voice on the Toy Story 4 trailer that I actually thought I was still in it. It wasn’t until then,” Hale said. “The whole time I was like, ‘They’re going to cut me. They’re going to replace me with some huge star.’”

The Veep star actually had a notable role in the Oscar-winning movie, as Toy Story 4 follows his new toy, a talking spork called Forky, who joins Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang on a road trip alongside old and new friends, as they learn how big the world can be for a toy.

“When you were playing in a world of Forky from Toy Story, it means just the power of simplicity. That’s why children’s books are so popular. I mean, sometimes adults gravitate to children’s books because of the simplicity,” Hale said of the character. “What I loved is [Forky] was the first toy that was made by a kid. So talk about simplicity. I mean, it was like a spork and some pipe cleaner arms, some popsicle feet.”

He added, “He just had this kind of wide-eyed simplicity and newness to him that was just so beautiful.”

As for the upcoming Toy Story 5, which is set to hit theaters on June 19, 2026, the Arrested Development alum briefly teased that the theme centers on toys vs. technology.

“They give you pieces of the script, and so I saw glimpses, but the glimpses I saw are pretty cool,” Hale said. “I don’t want to lose the surprise. I want to be completely surprised with Toy Story 5.”