Conan O’Brien‘s film career is on the rise, with the former late-night host booking a role in Pixar’s long-awaited Toy Story 5 .
“Isn’t that crazy?” he said in a social media video announcement Monday. “Legendary franchise. These films are amazing! I can’t believe this.”
The comic joked that he had sought to play one of the franchise’s two leads to no avail before accepting a different role.
“Initially, I wanted the role of Woody, and they told me that they already promised that to Tom Hanks,” O’Brien said, adding that Tim Allen had beaten him to the Buzz Lightyear character as well.
Instead, O’Brien will voice a brand new character, ‘Smarty Pants.’ Character details are being kept under wraps—but Pixar has said that the latest installment of the Toy Story franchise will pit the toys against the modern objects of kids’ attention: technology.
Toy Story 5 will mark O’Brien’s fifth film role since departing late night, and only the second to be getting a theatrical release. He most recently tackled drama playing a therapist in the upcoming A24 film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, which screened at Sundance this year but has yet to confirm a theatrical release plan.
Prior to that, O’Brien had appearances in two straight-to-streaming comedies: Roku’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and Peacock’s Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain.
Toy Story 5 is slated for release on June 19, 2026.
