'I Was A Dope': Billy Crystal Admits Regrets Over Turning Down This Beloved Character

The award-winning actor conceded that the movie ended up being "genius" after he said no to it.
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Billy Crystal at the Emmys last month
via Associated Press

Billy Crystal has admitted turning down a part in Toy Story is not a decision he looks back on fondly.

In the early 1990s, the When Harry Met Sally actor was initially approached by Pixar about voicing the now-iconic character of Buzz Lightyear, but turned it down on the advice of his agent.

Speaking to Graham Norton on Friday’s episode of his long-running talk show, Billy admitted: “I was the dope that turned it down.”

He went on to insist that the decision “wasn’t about the character, it was a business thing”, after his “agent said not to do it”.

“Then it comes out and it is genius,” he recalls.

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Billy was previously offered the chance to voice Buzz Lightyear, but turned it down
Snap/Shutterstock

After Billy passed on the role, the character of Buzz Lightyear ended up being voiced by Tim Allen in Toy Story and its many spin-offs.

The film has so far spawned three sequels, with a fifth instalment currently in the works at Pixar, which is slated for release in 2026.

Fortunately for Billy, he was given another chance to voice a Pixar character in Monsters Inc., which saw him playing Mike Wazowski alongside John Goodman’s James “Sulley” Sullivan.

“Two years later when the producers of Toy Story first mentioned Monsters Inc., I said ‘Whatever it is say yes’,” Billy told Graham Norton.

“They convinced me by showing me a screen test they had done of me as Buzz Lightyear in the scene from When Harry Met Sally, where I am yelling about a wagon wheel coffee table. They even had a little Buzz under the table.

“It was astonishing, and if I had seen that I would definitely have done Toy Story.”

Billy has since voiced Mike in a prequel, Monsters University, as well as various shorts and a Disney+ sitcom, Monsters At Work.

Watch Billy Crystal’s full interview on Friday’s edition of The Graham Norton Show, airing at 10.40pm on BBC One.