By Cassandra Pinkney
Tony Hale is no stranger to the worlds of Disney. The Emmy® Award-winning actor and comedian has brought his talents to screens all over the world as the voice of Fear in Inside Out 2 (2024) and Dream Productions (2024), and Forky in Toy Story 4 (2019). Now, Hale is bringing his signature humor back to Disney as Ultron in his very first Marvel venture, Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends!
This highly anticipated animated preschool series follows the adventures—and misadventures—of best friends and super geniuses Tony Stark/Iron Man (voiced by Mason Blomberg), Riri Williams/Iron Heart (voiced by Kapri Ladd), and Amadeus Cho/Iron Hulk (voiced by Aidyn Ahn). The series also features a rotating cast of villains, including Swarm (voiced by Vanessa Bayer), Absorbing Man (voiced by Talon Warburton), and Ultron (voiced by Hale), who cause family-friendly mischief and give the Iron Friends the chance to save the day.
D23 had the chance to sit down with Hale for an exclusive interview about his version of Ultron; the joy he finds in creating Disney characters; and how he thinks Forky could change Ultron for the better…
D23: Can you tell us a little bit about your history with Marvel Super Hero stories?
Tony Hale (TH): What’s my history? I like them; I think they’re fun! I’ve seen a lot of them.
What I love about this show is that [Marvel Super Hero stories are] larger than life. I love that [the series] brings it to a kid’s level, to something that a kid can connect to. They can watch and be like, “Oh, they’re my age! They’re talking like me, they’ve got superpowers.” That’s really fun for kids to have.
D23: Did you have any favorite Super Heroes when you were growing up?
TH: Honestly, I was more of a Muppets guy! I liked Beaker and Scooter and Fozzie and all those guys. That might say a lot about me and my career choices.
I didn’t go the Marvel direction—this is my first Marvel experience and I’m playing a quirky character… so that tracks.
D23: What can you tell us about Ultron in Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends and how you’re creating your own family-friendly version of this villain?
TH: I love [Ultron] because he’s always trying to create challenges. He’s trying to bring all the Iron Friends down. But man, they always get back at him! He’s always creating his own downfall. He’s trying to use their stuff against them, and in the end, he’s wrong. He’s always taken down—which I love.
This goes back to my love of classic villains. I love the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Wicked Witch of the West because there’s a “twisting of the mustache” [quality to them]. I feel like Ultron has elements of that.
D23: Can you share some of the villainous plans that your version of Ultron has in this series?
TH: Well, he loves a moment to perform. Ultron has a song in this, which is fantastic! He has his own music video because he takes over the airwaves. Nobody wants to hear Ultron, but he loves to hear himself. So, that was really fun to do. I’ve never done a music video; this is my first time.
D23: You’ve said that you have a lot of fun playing villains—and it seems like you are having a lot of fun playing Ultron. Is there something specific about this villain role that you’ve enjoyed bringing to life?
TH: The team itself is so great. Sean [Coyle], Harrison [Wilcox], and James [Eason-Garcia] —I enjoy recording with them and with Allyson [Bosch], our voice director. It’s fun to me, you know? I probably saw them once a week and I loved that process.
Also, with kid’s animation, you can go crazy! It’s like getting back to doing children’s theater. There’s not someone coming up to you going, “Hey, can we make this more real?” This is the time to go crazy, and that’s a blast!
D23: Tell us about Ultron’s sidekicks, Nuts (voiced by Gary Anthony Williams) and Bolts (voiced by Mo Collins). What are these characters like and how does Ultron interact with them?
TH: Ultron doesn’t have time for them. But I don’t think he has any other friends, so he’s got to keep them around. It’s very Laurel and Hardy, which is super fun.
Having done comedy for a long time, I love the timing of it. They’re just being obnoxious, and Ultron can’t handle [Nuts and Bolts] constantly cutting him off. They’re great; they just add more to that chaos. I mean, Ultron’s all about creating chaos. What he doesn’t want is for people to create chaos for him, and Nuts and Bolts are creating that chaos.
D23: You’ve been around the worlds of Disney quite a few times and played many fan-favorite roles. What has been your favorite part about getting to create these characters with Disney?
TH: Oooh, what’s not my favorite part?! It’s joy—it’s absolute joy. I mean, look at Forky!
Even though Fear [from Inside Out 2] is Fear, he was so silly! And when you’re given the chance to just scream your head off, you go nuts in the recording booth, you know?
Whatever I’m going through, if I went to record something with Disney or Pixar, it’s the opportunity to let go and release and just go crazy with whatever’s going on—and that’s just fun. How many times do we get that opportunity? Maybe at a wedding on the dance floor, maybe that’s the other time…
D23: How do you think your other Disney and Pixar characters would get along with your version of Ultron?
TH: Here’s the thing—what I loved about Forky is he was always so curious. In Toy Story 4, there was a doll named Gabby Gabby, and she was this very dark, evil doll. And everyone was so freaked out by her, but Forky didn’t know any better and was just like, “I think you got nice hair!” and would go up to Gabby Gabby and start brushing her hair. And it was because of that connection that she had her own redemptive story.
So I think if Forky met Ultron, he’d say, “Nice eyes!” or “You’re nice!” He’d become a friend of Ultron. This might be the opportunity for Ultron to soften, and maybe he’d have a redemptive story.
D23: You’ve spoken about how Iron Man and his Awesome Friends is your first Marvel experience, so how does it feel to be part of a series that may be many kids’ (or even adults’) first introduction to Marvel Super Heroes?
TH: Oh, it’s so fun! I love it!
With Forky, I never tell kids that I’m the voice of Forky. If I meet a parent who has a kid who likes Forky, I’ll say, “Hey, I’ll send you a voice memo from Forky and you can play it for them”—because in a child’s mind, Forky is real. It’s so exciting; sometimes they’ll send me a video of the kid listening to it…
If I ever find kids who are fans of this show, I’ll have to send them a voice memo from Ultron. That might freak them out, but it’ll still be fun.
D23: So, all told, what can families who love Super Hero stories expect from Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends?
TH: Oh, man… so much! In addition to being such a fun escape, you see lessons of these kids working together, being a team, and facing challenges. This show teaches [them] about coming together, trying to problem-solve, and taking on a challenge together. Man, what a lesson for kids to learn at an early age. I love that!
Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends premieres August 11 on Disney Jr. and is available on Disney+ August 12.