- Tony Hale, known for his roles on "Arrested Development" and "Veep," voices Forky in "Toy Story 4."
- Hale spoke to INSIDER about the creation of the character and the moment when he realized he wasn't going to be cut out of the movie.
- The Emmy-winning actor also talked candidly about how his real-life anxieties led to him creating the animated children's show for Netflix, "Archibald's Next Big Thing."
- Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.
It makes sense that the actor who played memorable anxiety-riddled characters like Buster Bluth on "Arrested Development" and Selina Meyer's loyal assistant Gary Walsh on "Veep" would be Pixar's No. 1 choice to play the lovably out-of-place character, Forky, in "Toy Story 4" (in theaters on Friday).
But Tony Hale admits it took him a day to realize Pixar really wanted him for the part.
"I thought, do they have the right Tony?" Hale recalled to INSIDER. "Do they mean Tony Danza?"
Nope. The makers behind the latest movie in the beloved franchise had the right Tony.
Forky is the first toy in the "Toy Story" movies who doesn't come out of a box (Bonnie creates Forky in kindergarten in the movie), and he is very different than Woody and the gang. In fact, Forky doesn't think he's a toy at all, but trash. (He's got a point, since Forky is made out of a spork and a broken popsicle stick.) So Pixar wanted someone like Hale to capture the voice of a "toy" experiencing everything for the first time — and being uncertain of it all.
INSIDER chatted with Hale about how he contributed to the creation of Forky, how bumping into Tom Hanks made him realize he wouldn't be cut out of the movie, and how his real-life anxieties led to him creating the upcoming Netflix show, "Archibald's Next Big Thing."
Jason Guerrasio: When they come to you with Forky, is the character fleshed out? What's the starting point for you?
Tony Hale: I went up to Pixar and they had done this really cool thing where I saw an animated version of Forky and they put dialogue in of characters I have done. So they put in lines Buster has said, and lines Gary has said. They wanted that nervous and overwhelmed vibe for Forky. It was fun to see the version that they wanted and then we just kept talking.
Guerrasio: Were you pitching voices to them?
Hale: I would try stuff and then they would ask me to do it another way. The cool thing about what Pixar did is typically when I've done animation in the past you are in a separate recording booth and there's a sheet of glass that separates you from the director and writer. But you hear them in your headphones. Though at any moment they can turn that off and everything goes silent and all you see are their mouths taking about you.
Guerrasio:"Oh, no. What have I done?"
Hale: Exactly. But with Pixar everyone was in the same room. It was very communal. It felt very collaborative. They wanted my feedback, they created this warm environment.
Guerrasio: And did you ever get to record with cast members?
Hale: No. It was just me by myself. And that's typically how I've done it. I remember the third or fourth time Tom Hanks came in right before me. And we talked and that's when it hit me that maybe they aren't going to cut me out of this thing. [Laughs.]
Guerrasio: So you thought everything you were doing could be scrapped tomorrow?
Hale: That's kind of your entire career, you never know if you're going to end up in the movie. You do your best and then you go to a screening and realize you were completely cut out. But with this they definitely painted a broad picture of what was going on and I was handed pages, so I could form the story as I was getting stuff sent to me. It was great for me because Forky was so fresh to the world that I could take my overwhelmed experience of doing this into him. I was just as confused as Forky was.
Guerrasio: [Laughs.] It worked for the character.
Hale: It totally worked. He doesn't understand the rules of the universe. People say Bo Peep and he's like, "What's a Bo?" So it was fun. He's like a child asking all these wonderful questions that everyone is thinking and he's just asking them. I just love that because of his newness he doesn't have the filter that society puts on someone. He's incredibly non-judgmental. He comes from the trash and Woody says, "You're more than trash." That he has purpose. It's a beautiful message the movie has. And it's funny for me because in "Veep," Selina Meyer is supposed to be Gary's guide and Woody is the opposite. Woody is the guide that Gary on "Veep" needed.
Guerrasio: And it's so funny to see how people online have taken Forky's reactions featured in the movie's trailer and used that to creates memes on how they feel about things going on in 2019.
Hale: I know. [Laughs.] It's like how many times do you want to stand up and go, "What the heck is going on?"
Guerrasio: Has it hit you yet that you will be known for playing a Disney character? I mean, Forky merchandise is going to follow you around forever.
Hale: It's still hitting me that I get free food at junkets, so that right there is going to hit me in stages. What's so fun is what Forky represents. Seeing himself one way and learning another way, that bump of joy, I love being associated with that.
Read more: "Toy Story 4" is an action-packed entry to the beloved franchise
Guerrasio: Forky will now make three memorable characters you have had in your career, along with Buster on "Arrested Development" and Gary on "Veep" [for which Hale won two Emmys playing the character]. Actors would kill to just have one of those on their resume. You've talked in the past about struggling to live in the moment, that you have had to work hard over the years not to think, "What's next?" So with having said goodbye to those roles, have you had time to sit back and take in all the accomplishments in your career to this point?
Hale: Oh yeah. And it's that constant reminder that we all have to give ourselves to do that. If I'm not careful then I'm constantly looking to the next thing. And, honestly, that's easier for me to do than to challenge myself to be present. It's more of a challenge to look at where I am than to the next thing. My business does not cater to being present, it caters to, "What are you doing next?"
Guerrasio: That's the way an actor is built.
Hale: Exactly. So it's more of a challenge for me to be here and that's what I'm definitely trying to do.
Guerrasio: And is that the inspiration for the Netflix animated show coming to the service later this year, "Archibald's Next Big Thing"?
Hale: Yeah. It's based on a children's book I did year's ago. The show is about the same character, a chicken named Archibald, who is full of life and sees the best in people but he makes lots of mistakes. And we learn that there's always a greater purpose to those mistakes.
Guerrasio: Are you going to voice Archibald?
Hale: Yeah.
Guerrasio: So you've been riding a big wave of success, is there one thing you are still striving to do in this business?
Hale: It was such a big lesson for me, and continues to be, that I wasn't present for most of my life and I think the biggest challenge is for me to be here. So not to sound cheesy, but I don't go there in my head much. And it's not like I'm taking ambition and big dreams off the table, but many times in the past my ambition was, "What's going to be valuable when that moment in my career comes?" And now it's, "No, where I am has as much value as where I should be."
Guerrasio: But is there fear that if you spend too much time being present you miss that big part or big opportunity because you didn't look forward?
Hale: I have thought that way, but I have realized that the equation of that is just a lot more anxiety that I already have. I already struggle with anxiety, so that is only adding more. And it's not giving me any returns. So I might as well choose a path where there is hopefully more peace.
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