The Oscar winner responds to the toy cowboy’s new look in the latest Pixar sequel.

Tom Hanks reacts to viral Woody bald spot in Toy Story 5: ‘He has been played with to excess’ (exclusive)

The Oscar winner responds to the toy cowboy's new look in the latest Pixar sequel.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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April 29, 2026 4:06 p.m. ET

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Tom Hanks; Woody in 'Toy Story 5'. Credit:

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty; Pixar

- Tom Hanks is reacting to Woody's bald spot in *Toy Story 5* going viral.

- "You put a rubber hat on top of a rubber head again and again and again and again, something's gonna chafe," the Oscar winner tells EW.

- And what about Woody's belly? Hanks has a response for that too.

Tom Hanks wouldn't necessarily call Woody's new look in *Toy Story 5* a bald spot. It's more that "he has been played with to excess," the Oscar winner tells **.

The actor joined costar Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear) for EW's Summer Movie Preview digital cover story on the next Pixar sequel, during which he addressed what has gone viral online since the last trailer reveal: a hairless patch on the cowboy's rubber head.

"You put a rubber hat on top of a rubber head again and again and again and again, something's gonna chafe," Hanks says. "So, yeah, he does have… let's say a *worn* area on the back of his head."

Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) in 'Toy Story 5'.

During the events of *Toy Story 4* (2019), Hanks' Woody went off into the sunset to be a hero to abandoned toys. Now in *Toy Story 5* (in theaters June 19), he returns to the fold when Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang in Bonnie's room are faced with an unbeatable threat: technology.

Bonnie's parents gift their daughter (Scarlett Spears) a Lilypad (Greta Lee), a smart device that often wins the battle for the 8-year-old's attention. It's a story inspired by that time in everyone's life when we're told it's no longer cool to play with toys.

Pixar's Andrew Stanton reveals details of his conversation with Tim Allen about 'Lightyear' feedback (exclusive)

Read the 'Toy Story 5' offer for Conan O'Brien to play potty-training tech (exclusive)

When Woody makes his grand return, there are some noticeable changes. The bald spot, in particular, gained a lot of attention after popping up in a recent *Toy Story 5* trailer. Though Woody also has a bit of a beer belly. "He is not shaped plastic," Hanks says. "He is made of stuffing and cloth, and that stuff settles over time."

The film, directed by Pixar great Andrew Stanton (*Finding Nemo*, *WALL-E*), brings back the likes of John Ratzenberg as piggybank Hamm; Wallace Shawn as dino Rex; Blake Clark as Slinky Dog; Annie Potts as Bo Peep; Bonnie Hunt as rag doll Dolly; John Hopkins as hedgehog plushie Mr. Pricklepants; Kristen Schaal as Trixie the Triceratops; Ernie Hudson as Combat Carl; Keanu Reeves as Canadian daredevil Duke Caboom; Tony Hale as Forky; and Melissa Villaseñor as Forky's plastic-knife girlfriend, Karen Beverly.

Smarty Pants, Atlas, Snappy, Bullseye, and Jessie in 'Toy Story 5'.

Jeff Bergman and Anna Vocino take over the voice roles of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head after the deaths of Don Rickles and Estelle Harris. There are also some new characters. Emmy winner Mykal-Michelle Harris voices Blaze, a young girl living in the house that was once home to Jessie and Emily, the toy's first child who abandoned her years ago.

Conan O'Brien voices Smarty Pants, an old potty-training gadget. Along with GPS toy Atlas (Craig Robinson) and kid-friendly camera Snappy (Shelby Rabara), the trio are some of Blaze's forgotten tech toys.

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Allen's Buzz, meanwhile, doesn't have a bald spot like Woody, but the actor does voice multiple incarnations of the toy — 51 to be precise. The opening sequence sees a shipping crate filled with high-tech Buzzes that bust out of their plastic packaging on a deserted island.

"I thought, 'Finally, I get more screen time than Woody,'" Allen tells EW. "These are very structured creatures," he adds. "All they wanna do is find Star Command."

- Animated Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Animated”