When it got pitched to me, I thought it sounded whimsical and fun, silly, positive.
I don’t know if we’re going to build a whole show around this talking pillow.
I doubt that’s going to happen.
[Pillow speaks] “Who’s going to rock it today?
You’re going to rock it today.”
That’s very enthusiastic.
[Pillow speaks again] “Rise and shine, good looking.
It’s time to seize the day.”
I don’t know what products you’re using."
Probably half of them were mine [that I made up] on the spot fun, silly things.
The one where I say, “Your hair smells terrific,” that was [improvised].
There might be one [like], “Oh, starting the day together.
We’re going to do great,” or something like that.
I don’t know.
It was a little while ago when we recorded these.
Was the process of recording it different from the way you would typically record voiceover stuff?
In a way, yes, because they’re all individual sound bites.
You’re not doing scenes.
They’re just individual sound bites where you’re complimenting whoever it is waking up.
That’s what Days Inn is all about.
It’s not quite as great as the golden ticket in Willy Wonka.
That was a bad comparison.
But [recording these was] fun and easy.
We came up with some fun sound bites of fun things to start people’s day with.
Yet you didn’t appear in that many episodes.
Why do you think that still looms so large in your career?
When you’re part of something that’s in perpetual syndication and is …
It’s something that seems to be ever-present.
It’s a good thing.
I actually did nine regular-season episodes 10 including the final episode.
But people always seem to go back to “Seinfeld.”
The most meaningful and one of the greatest opportunities I had was a few years ago.
I find that in a creative industry, oftentimes they seem to lack creativity in regards to casting.
They put you in a box.
I said, “How do you know me?”
They go, “‘Seinfeld.'”
I played the NASA exec in the film who oversees this entire operation.
I said, “I’m maybe the least funny character in this entire film.
What made you think that I could do this?”
They said, “Oh, we reckon you could do it.”
In Los Angeles, they don’t seem to see things that way.
It’s just the way the industry works.
Sometimes they can’t imagine you being or doing something else.
It’s not that frustrating.
I’ve had a lot of opportunities and been able to do things.
Is there one that stands out to you as a favorite that you keep coming back to?
Being a Disney-phile it was in my early days I got to create the character.
I got to discover and create what he sounded like and present that.
The makers of the film loved it, and that’s what we went with.
There are a lot of characters.
It’s so much fun to be a part of a show like that.
That’s also a part of pop culture and transitions with the times.
“The Bee Movie” I love working with Jerry Seinfeld.
He’s got a very unique comic sensibility.
I loved doing the Wolf in “Hoodwinked.”
That was a fun project, although I got screwed over by Harvey Weinstein very much so.
When I did “Hoodwinked,” it was an independent production.
It was an independently produced animated feature.
In case that happens, I need a contract."
I had a contract, and then Weinstein saw it at the Berlin film festival.
They bought it and they put it out there.
Now Weinstein is in the animation business a Weinstein film.
It’s not a Weinstein film; they just bought it and they put it out there.
I have a contract."
Harvey said, “Sue me.”
That’s what he said: “Sue me.”
I made a total of about $20,000 on that movie because Weinstein …
He was used to screwing everybody over, and he got away with it.
I had a manager at the time who wouldn’t even tangle with him.
She’s like, “Well, it’s Harvey Weinstein.”
He’s getting his comeuppance, isn’t he?
This is only my personal experience I speak of.
That’s the kind of person that he was, anyways.
Well, there’s an argument to support the idea of karma.
I love that show, and it’s developed a bit of a cult following over the years.
Do you still get recognized for that, or do people still ask you about that a lot?
That has its own special place, those nine episodes we did in 2000.
We were over at Fox.
This was before they were making single-camera, half-hour shows.
They held the show for a whole year and didn’t put it out there.
They intentionally set us up to fail, and that was it.
20 years later, it still seems to have a life.
Now, Chris Evans is doing it for the new “Lightyear” movie.
Did you have a chance to speak with him or give him any advice?
Do you have any advice that you’d have for him?
No, I have no advice for Chris.
Whenever it’s your opportunity to voice a character, you make it your own.
Chris, being the talented and creative individual he is, will make it his own.
Even when I did the TV series, I didn’t talk to Tim [Allen] before that.
My Buzz was very different than Tim’s Buzz.
Peter Serafinowicz did the latest live-action version of The Tick, and we didn’t have any communications.
You venture to make things your own, but there are these characters and superheroes that go on.
There will always be many different Batmans and Supermans and The Ticks and Buzz Lightyears, for sure.
With Buzz, he’s a take-charge kind of guy, and he’s by the book.
It’s easy to get into the persona of a Buzz Lightyear.
You’re not really changing your voice or personal voice.
That’s why that’s a great opportunity to experiment.
I remember early, early conversations with them.
He’s also a cook.
And he likes to cook."
They’re like, “That’s it.”
Then you’re stepping into those shoes and running with it.
That’s what I love about doing animation watching everything come together at the very end.
When you’re a voice actor, you’re just lending your voice.
You have to be genuine.
Sometimes, it’s nice to boost somebody up.
What better way than a talking pillow, a complimentary pillow that gives you compliments?
The new “complimentary” pillow is available until July 30 in select Days Inn locations throughout the summer.
This interview was edited for clarity.
