Chris Evans Talks Being ‘Overwhelmed’ By the Responsibility to Star as Buzz in ‘Lightyear’

Lightyear focuses on a young astronaut who was stranded on a hostile planet Tikana Prime with his commander and crew. Buzz volunteers to test out a hyperspace fuel that they would need for their vessel in order to find a way back home. The fuel is so powerful that it makes him time travel and he soon realizes that four years pass by during each attempt, causing him to miss out on life in his colony. As his friends and crew, including his commanding officer and best friend Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), get older and move on with their lives, Buzz stays the same age and ends up alone in his mission to save them. 

“It starts with the writing, doesn’t it? The Pixar script is so wonderful that you have really personal intimate moments,” Evans tells Complex. “I mean it’s one thing when you’re doing iconic lines like, ‘To infinity and beyond’ or ‘You’re mocking me, aren’t you?’ You can’t help but kind of embody what Tim did. But there are wonderful scenes in this movie where he’s being more internal and thoughtful and reflective and as an actor you do the things you do, and you have your own internal thoughts and after of couple takes, before you know it, you are kind of breathing life into something personal. You almost can’t help it.”

People who grew up watching the Toy Story films that started in 1995 are the ones who most likely have a deep connection to the character and his voice. Some people were not pleased with Disney’s decision to not cast Allen for this role. Everybody Loves Raymond actress Patricia Heaton took to Twitter recently to express her disappointment in the casting choice, saying Allen should’ve continued voicing the role. “Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns,” Heaton tweeted. “Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?” But after watching the film, it makes sense that a different person would be used to voice the real person behind the toy we know and love. 

Voice acting is all about delivering enough emotion to make the character impactful, but we’ve seen lately how powerful animated characters and films can be when they are done well. In Evans’ case, he put all of his faith and trust in the studio to get it right. “Every time I would come in for a session there would be massive script changes. That’s the beauty of Pixar filmmaking, it’s like this potter’s wheel. They take four years and you do a whole session, you do the whole script and then you come back and they say, ‘Okay, we all got together and had meetings and we’re going to tweak all these little knobs,’” he says. “So you are just kind of along for the ride but you certainly have in your mind this hope that you checked those boxes but again, there’s only so much you can affect when all you’re doing is sitting in a booth reading lines.”

“Unfortunately, doing these voice acting roles, I didn’t meet them until the other night at the premiere. You don’t read with anybody. When you’re in the booth you’re by yourself so it’s a challenge,” he says. “Sometimes some of the best stuff in filmmaking comes from those in-person interactions and spontaneity and listening. So with these movies, you’re really just kind of in a vacuum, giving different deliveries, and then it’s up to Pixar to kind of put the puzzle together.”

This is supposed to be the movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy line that Andy has in the Toy Story movies. But the film is more upsetting than it is uplifting and kind of makes you feel sorry for the way Buzz spent his life. Sure, he was heroic and determined to help his people get back home but he lost a lot along the way. In the end, Buzz’s story shows us what a lonely place space can be.

toy Lightyear is now in theaters.