Buzz Lightyear and Woody might be fictional best friends, but the real-life bond between Toy Story actors Tim Allen and Tom Hanks stretches to infinity and beyond.
“We completely, whether surface or subsurface, completely connected as two individuals,” Allen, 72, exclusively tells Us Weekly in his cover story of the costars’ connection. “Almost like we’re related.”
Allen — who has voiced toy spaceman Buzz alongside Hanks’ cowboy Woody since 1995’s Toy Story — reveals that their relationship, like the toys they play, has evolved over the years.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Monica Schipper/Getty Images for CinemaCon
The Home Improvement alum recalls feeling like he was coming off of Hanks’ “coattail” prior to their first meeting.
Allen explains that after years traveling as a “successful road comic,” he was offered a TV version of Turner and Hooch, inspired by Hanks’ 1989 movie by the same name.
“I said, ‘Didn’t Hanks already do this?’” Allen remembers of his conversation with Disney, noting that “comics don’t do that,” referring to taking someone’s work and redoing it or creating a new version of the same idea.
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Allen tells Us that although he thinks “it’d be fun to do somebody else’s comedy for the night, [like], ‘Here, I’m going to do a little Jerry Seinfeld tonight, and just see what that would be like,’” rebooting Turner and Hooch didn’t peek his interest.
“I said, ‘They’ve already done that,’” he says, noting that Hanks, 69, “had a lot of gravitas at that time.”
Tim Allen and Tom Hanks working on ‘Toy Story 2.’ Linda R. Chen/Buena Vista/Everett Collection
After declining to step into Hanks’ shoes for that TV show, Allen says he eventually crossed paths with the Oscar winner when they were both cast in the original Toy Story film.
“All I remember is he’s kind of a very independent little kid. I came from a very large family, he did not come from a very large family,” Allen tells Us of their first meeting.
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The Last Man Standing alum recalls that although he loves Hanks, he has “never forgotten how annoyed I was that he ate french fries off my plate.”
“I wasn’t being funny. I said, ‘What are you doing?’ And he goes, ‘Eating some of your fries?’” Allen says. “And I was actually very angry, and then he started laughing.”
Buzz Lightyear and Woody in ‘Toy Story 5.’ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Everett Collection
Allen remembers pointing out that Hanks didn’t appear to “notice that I don’t like this,” but Hanks was well aware that was pushing the actor’s buttons.
“He goes, ‘Yeah, I can see that.’ And just kept on it,” Allen adds with a laugh. “And that’s the type of guy he is.”
Despite the french fry incident, Allen and Hanks have remained coworkers — teaming up for their fifth Toy Story film this year — and friends for decades.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen at U.K. premiere for ‘Toy Story 5.’ Kate Green/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited
According to Allen, their long-lasting bond is due in part to their shared interests and values.
“I mean, it seems like I really know this guy, and sometimes we’re standing there together, we look kind of similar,” he tells Us, laughing at their physical resemblance at times. “We relate on so many levels that I don’t relate with anybody else.”
Allen shares, “We read deep books. He writes very good stuff. I have a very strong interest in philosophy and metaphysics, and so does he. And he loves warfare, and he’s so honorable to our vets and the military, as am I, and we get along.”
Allen notes that playing Buzz to Hanks’ Woody has also solidified their friendship, as the toys have become iconic among fans worldwide.
“Whatever these characters have done for [fans], maybe did for me, in a certain time in my life, [what] Mickey and Donald Duck [did],” Allen explains, comparing the Pixar characters to Walt Disney’s original dynamic duo of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen at ‘Toy Story 5’ world premiere. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney
He adds, “I don’t ever intend or want to take the place of those two characters,” but says some of his best moments with Hanks have been surprising fans and saying his iconic line, “To infinity and beyond,” because it resonates with so many.
“Tom taught me this trick, have them shut their eyes and turn around, and then we do Woody and Buzz, and to see that look on their face [is magic],” Allen concludes.
Learn more about Allen’s long history in Hollywood, the success of Toy Story and more in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
Toy Story 5 hits theaters on Friday, June 19.