21 actors you probably didn't realize voiced Pixar characters
John Peck Publish date: 2023-11-25
Updated- Pixar movies are often packed with famous faces you might not recognize by the sound of their voice alone.
- In some cases, like the two "Incredibles" films, it wasn't even an actor behind the character. Writer and director Brad Bird voiced Edna Mode for both movies.
- Keep reading to see other celebrities you might not have realized were in Pixar movies.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Famous actors are often disguised behind animated characters that look wildly different from the real celebrity. And though some Hollywood stars like Tom Hanks or Ellen Degeneres are instantly recognizable as the voices behind the animation, other actors are harder to pinpoint.
We've gone through every Pixar film released and identified all the actors you may not have realized were cast in roles both big and small.
Keep scrolling to learn more.
"Toy Story" debuted in 1995, with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen starring as Buzz and Woody.
But do you remember who voiced Rex?
That would be Wallace Shawn.
Shawn is perhaps best known for his role of Vizzini in "The Princess Bride."
Four years later, a new "Toy Story" character was introduced: Stinky Pete the Prospector.
Pixar brought on a veteran actor to play Stinky Pete.
He was played by none other than Kelsey Grammer.
Grammar was the star of acclaimed comedy series "Cheers" and "Fraiser."
Barbie and Ken were a highlight of "Toy Story 3."
You might not have realized who played the dashing male Barbie doll.
Michael Keaton brought Ken to life.
He might have won an Oscar for "Birdman," but we think his hilarious take on Ken was award-worthy as well.
In the 2006 hit "Cars," Chick Hicks was the green nemesis of Lightning McQueen.
Everyone knows Lightning McQueen was voiced by Owen Wilson, but not as many talk about his co-star.
The petty race car was also voiced by Michael Keaton.
Keaton can be seen in the 2017 Marvel movie "Spiderman: Homecoming."
In "Cars 2," another antagonistic race car was introduced: Francesco.
Francesco challenges Lightning McQueen in the World Grand Prix at the start of "Cars 2."
The Italian car was played by John Turturro, who starred on HBO's summer hit miniseries "The Night Of."
You might also know Turturro from movies like "Barton Fink" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
"A Bug's Life" brought a new take on the tiny world of ants, with Princess Atta as a main character.
This 1998 Pixar classic told the story of an ant colony that needed to adapt its food systems.
Atta was voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the "Seinfeld" breakout star who is now winning Emmys for "Veep."
Louis-Dreyfus has a record 11 Emmy wins in total, with 24 nominations overall.
The tiniest star of "A Bug's Life" was Princess Dot.
Dot helped Flik and the rest of his big crew defeat the grasshoppers once and for all.
"Heroes" star Hayden Panettiere was only 9 years old when she was cast as Dot.
Now she's been starring as Juliette on the TV drama "Nashville" for the last six years.
"Finding Nemo" fans all know Ellen Degeneres as the comedian behind Dory, but do you know who played Nigel the pelican?
Nigel visited the fish in the dentist's aquarium in Sydney, Australia.
That would be Geoffrey Rush, who Disney fans will recognize from his role as Captain Barbosa in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.
Now fans can see Rush as Albert Einstein in 2017's National Geographic biopic anthology series "Genius."
Regular-guy-turned villain Buddy Pine (aka "Syndrome") was the antagonist in the first "Incredibles" movie.
Syndrome wanted to disperse technology to the world that would make everyone "super."
He was played by actor Jason Lee.
Lee is perhaps best known for his role as the titular character in "My Name is Earl."
The real breakout star of "The Incredibles" was superhero costume designer Edna Mode.
Edna was there to help Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl get new and improved outfits for their superhero fighting.
Edna was voiced by "The Incredibles" writer and director, Brad Bird.
Bird gave the role to himself after auditioning several actresses. He reprised the voice of Edna for "Incredibles 2" in the summer of 2018.
"Ratatouille" is best known for Pat Oswald's portrayal of Remy the rat, but Chef Skinner had another recognizable face behind the animation.
Skinner was horrified to learn about Remy's presence in his kitchen.
He was voiced by Ian Holm.
Holm is perhaps best known for playing Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
One of the few human characters in Pixar's "WALL-E" was the Captain of the Axiom spaceship.
"WALL-E" was a rare film with no speaking lines for its entire first act.
The real-life captain actor was Jeff Garlin, who many should recognize from Larry David's series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Comedian Jeff Garlin brought the needed levity to his role of the human captain responsible for helping get the humans back to Earth.
"Monster's University" featured a scary dean of admissions named Abigail Hardscrabble.
Hardscrabble gave Mike Wazowski and James Sullivan a hard time in college.
Helen Mirren was the voice behind the formidable Dean Hardscrabble.
Hollywood veteran Mirren was also the voice of the queen in another classic animated hit movie, "The Prince of Egypt."
In the same film, a new goofy monster named Art was introduced.
Art was one of Mike Wazowski's unwanted fraternity brothers.
Art was played by Charlie Day, who stars as a lovable goon on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Day continued his voice acting with roles in the new Lego animated movie franchise.
A minor "Monster's University" character, the Greek Council President, was also voiced by a TV comedy star.
She was one of the monsters in charge of the events that kept Mike and his monster team occupied for the duration of the movie.
Aubrey Plaza brought her deadpan humor to the role for "Monsters University."
Plaza is best known as the sardonic April on NBC's "Parks and Recreation."
"Brave" introduced a new kind of royal family, featuring Queen Elinor as a stubborn Scottish ruler.
The strong-willed mother wound up under a mystical spell in "Brave."
Emma Thompson switched up her usual British accent for the role.
She had to adopt a Scottish accent for the role of Elinor in "Brave."
"Inside Out" featured a youngster named Riley and her two parents. Did you notice who voiced dear old Dad?
Riley's parents made her move to San Francisco, much to the young girl's disappointment.
That was Kyle Maclachlan, who's recognizable as Dale Cooper in "Twin Peaks."
Beloved Hollywood star Kyle Maclachlan also had a recurring character on the parody series "Portlandia."
Amy Poehler was the bubbly voice of Joy, but fans of "The Office" were in for a treat when it came Sadness.
Poehler's voice was much more immediately recognizable.
Sadness (personified) was played by Phyllis Smith.
Smith can also be seen on the Netflix's series "The OA," which was sadly canceled this year after just two seasons.
Fans of "Finding Dory" likely fell in love with the new character Hank the septopus.
Hank was a self-centered marine animal who learned how to trust others by the end of "Finding Dory."
Ed O'Neill — star of "Modern Family" — played the seven-armed critter.
O'Neill is most famous for his role as Al Bundy on "Married With Children."
O'Neill wasn't the only "Modern Family" actor featured in the movie. Bailey the Beluga whale was voiced by another star of the sitcom.
Bailey was a whale whose echolocation needed repairing.
He was voiced by Ty Burrell.
Burrell plays Ed O'Neill's character's son-in-law on "Modern Family."
Last but not least, another comedic new character in "Finding Dory" was Destiny.
Destiny was childhood pals with Dory, even though the little fish had obviously forgotten about her.
Destiny was voiced by another "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star — Kaitlin Olson.
Olson plays Dee on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" alongside Charlie Day.
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