He’s the neurotic Buster Bluth and the personal assistant to Selina Meyer, and now, actor Tony Hale has lent his manic energy into a child’s arts and crafts project with “Toy Story 4’s” hottest new character, Forky. A lovable, innocent, overwhelmed and profoundly relatable character, the living spork gives the “Veep” actor a blank canvas to explore delivering what is sure to be some of the year’s most quotable lines of dialogue. Forky is already making massive waves and, wisely so, will be heading his own 10-episode Disney+ show this fall (you can read our full story on it here).
READ MORE: ‘Toy Story 4’ Is The Surprising, Poignant Epilogue To Pixar’s Finest Franchise [Review]
A humble and genuine talent, Hale recently spoke with me about what we can expect from the new series, what his initial reaction was when he got the call that he would be playing a sentient spork, Forky’s relatability and much more.
So we did hear that you’re doing, what, a ten episode, Forky series?
It’s like a web series, which I love, that he just unashamedly asked all these questions constantly. It’ll start with a question where I’ll say “dah, dah, dah, dah,” and then another character from Toy Story will help him explore what this is. And then what’s so great about him Forky is just full of wonder and curiosity, and doesn’t get the rules of the universe, and all that stuff.
Right. So, I guess there’s some opportunity for cameos in there?
Oh yeah. Oh yeah, tons, tons, tons.
The biggest question I have for your is when you were first approached about being part of the “Toy Story” film I have to imagine there’s a large amount of excitement when you get that call.
Oh yeah.
But when you find out that your character is a sentient spork, what is your reaction?
Yeah, it wasn’t what I was expecting because I’d been a fan of the Toy Story franchise—I have a 13-year-old, so she grew up with them. And then I saw the picture (laughs) the image of the spork, and I loved the simplicity of Forky immediately. Because not only does he look at life, where he’s just like “what is this? What’s this? I don’t get anything.” But he’s made so simply, and my daughter, I remember when she was little, at Christmas or something she’d get a gift, sometimes she’d be more into the box than she was the toy. She created this thing about the box, and Forky is, you know, a spork: pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks, and she adores him. There’s just a real sweetness to him that I appreciated. I related to him so much because I was overwhelmed, the fact that I was even at Pixar, and I’d been asked to do this and continually wondering, “someone is going to find out that I’m not supposed to be here.” So I related very much to Forky, of just walking around, going “What the heck is happening right now?”
Yeah, so I guess with a character like that—and you were speaking to the simplicity of him, his attractive traits—does that give you an even larger sandbox to play in?
Yeah, it did, I mean, whatever line was said to me that simplicity colored it. For instance, Gabby’s a great example. Everybody else is getting freaked out by Gabby Gabby, and Forky is just like “she has great hair.” It’s just that sense of “what beautiful hair you have.” Like he doesn’t understand. That’s another beautiful thing he doesn’t at all judge a book by its cover because books have never even been in his universe; like he doesn’t understand it. So, he sees her, and he’s like “hello, what’s going on, and let’s talk.” Then, of course, he considers the henchman, and he’s like “now that, something’s going on there.”
That’s an interesting point. He’s one of the only character’s that’s, like kind of an idealist, in a weird, innocent sort of way.
Yeah, and he’s a blank slate.
Which is not something you usually get in a movie like this.
And speaking of Gabby Gabby, [the thing] that I love is, in the beginning, she’s kind of, quote, the villain, but you rarely see a villain have that turn. They don’t have that change. Where she has her awareness of stuff, and all of a sudden, you adore her.