Tom Hanks' brother reveals he secretly voiced ‘Toy Story’s woody for decades

For generations of Toy Story fans, Woody’s unmistakable voice has been synonymous with Tom Hanks. But it turns out the Oscar-winning actor hasn’t always been the one behind the beloved cowboy.

Tom Hanks’ younger brother, Jim Hanks, has revealed that he has spent decades voicing Woody for a wide range of Toy Story projects, stepping in whenever his famous sibling was unavailable.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the 65-year-old voice actor explained that he first became involved with Pixar and Disney ahead of the release of the original Toy Story in 1995, when Tom’s demanding filming schedule made it difficult to record every line needed for promotional materials.

“Tom’s schedule was crazy busy, so they reached out to me,” Jim recalled. “I had been doing voiceover for a while, and I guess everybody knew that I sounded like him.”

He said he was brought in to record Woody’s signature pull-string toy phrases, including “You’re my favorite deputy,” and quickly became the go-to stand-in for the iconic character.

Since then, Jim has continued to voice Woody in merchandise, talking toys, video games and theme park attractions around the world, helping maintain the cowboy’s familiar voice beyond the feature films.

Jim also revealed that his resemblance to his older brother has landed him on film sets as Tom’s body double. One of his most memorable contributions came in the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump, where he performed many of the scenes showing Forrest’s famous cross-country run.

Despite years of helping bring Tom Hank’s characters to life, Jim said the brothers have never shared a scene together on screen, though he admitted it would be something he’d enjoy.