Watch Tom Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres Have a Conversation as Woody and Dory
In addition to being famous actors known and beloved the world over, Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Hanks have something else major in common: They both play Pixar characters, with DeGeneres providing the voice for Dory in "Finding Nemo" and "Finding Dory," and Hanks playing Woody in the "Toy Story" films. The pair chatted about the coincidence during Hanks's recent appearance on Ellen's talk show, and even had what they dubbed a "Pixar-off" where they had a conversation entirely in character.
Encouraging audience members to close their eyes so they could imagine Woody and Dory sitting there rather than Hanks and DeGeneres, the two actors proceeded to spout off frenzied lines in-character about looking for Woody's hat and swimming in the ocean. It's a fun little sequence that both performers clearly enjoyed, and the crowd ate it up.DeGeneres and Hanks also discussed the challenges of a voiceover performance, with DeGeneres noting, "It's harder work than people think it is because it's all emoting, just your voice is doing all the acting." Hanks admitted that his "diaphragm is exhausted" after four-hour recording sessions as Woody, since the character is "always clenched."
The clip is a cool peek into the Pixar acting process, and kind of makes us wish that Dory and Woody could team up for real on the big screen. Maybe a "Toy Story"-"Finding Dory" crossover can be Pixar's next big project?
Photo credit: YouTube/The Ellen Show