Academy AwardŽ winner Tom Hanks hops into the saddle once again, having a rip-roarin' good time as Sheriff Woody. Best known for his roles in "Forrest Gump," "Apollo 13," and "Saving Private Ryan," Tom thoroughly enjoyed stepping into Woody's boots for an encore performance.

What was it like playing Woody again?
It isn't too hard, because you come to the recording sessions and you're surrounded by the whole history of "Toy Story." The greatest thing is you get to see the movie continuously over a two-year period while they're making it. You see the story reels and get a good sense of what Woody is going through. By the time you actually step up to the microphone, you're Woody. Of course, I'm kind of like Woody in real life anyway.

What's the hardest part about playing Woody?
Doing an animated voice is exhausting work. You're in a room and you're trying to create all of these verbal grunts and groans and also the energy that goes along with the character. You have to tax your psychic talents as well, because you have to see it all in your head and make it all up. I always leave with a very sore diaphragm. I don't know how opera singers feel after they've performed onstage, but I think it's not unlike the way I feel driving home after a five- or six-hour recording session.

What was your favorite toy as a kid?
I saved up to buy Major Matt Mason. It was at the height of the space race, and he was a poseable, bendable, very authentic-looking astronaut.

Do you think Woody and Buzz are good friends?
Woody and Buzz are great friends because they are opposites and yet they are peers, all at the same time. They are the heroes of the age -- the astronaut and the cowboy. In "Toy Story 2," they share a sense of past adventures where they reached out and saved each other at the right time. They have a good healthy respect for each other, but at the same time a good healthy competition as well. Friendship is a long and sometimes rocky road. They learn from each other what it really is to be a toy and when not to let your head get bigger than your hat.

TOM HANKS (Woody) reprises his vocal role as the lanky, likable cowboy toy who has long been Andy's favorite, and provides the character with an incredible range of humor and emotion. This time around, Woody finds himself torn in more ways than one. First his arm is ripped during a rambunctious play session with Andy. Then the dependable Sheriff gets toynapped by an obsessive collector, discovers that he is a highly collectible toy, and must decide whether he wants to go back home (where his inevitable fate is to be outgrown by Andy) or spend his days as a museum piece. What's a toy to do?

One of today's most admired and respected actors, Academy Award® winner Hanks most recently starred in the critically acclaimed films "The Green Mile," "Saving Private Ryan," and the romantic comedy "You've Got Mail." He also executive-produced the highly regarded HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon." In 1995, he received an Academy Award for his outstanding performance in "Forrest Gump," in what has become the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time. He also received the 1994 Best Actor Oscar® for his compelling performance as the AIDS stricken lawyer Andrew Beckett in "Philadelphia." Hanks is the first actor in 50 years to win back-to-back Oscars. The actor won additional acclaim for his portrayal of astronaut Jim Lovell in Ron Howard's blockbuster drama "Apollo 13."

Born and raised in Oakland, California, Hanks first became interested in acting during high school. He attended California State University in Sacramento, where he appeared in a production of "The Cherry Orchard" and met director Vincent Dowling, who was also the resident director of the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland. Dowling invited Hanks to intern with the company, where he made his professional debut portraying Gremio in "The Taming of the Shrew." From Cleveland Hanks went on to New York, where he appeared in his first feature film, "He Knows You're Alone," and on stage in "The Taming of the Shrew." He then moved to Los Angeles, where he performed in a production of "The Dollmaker" and received his first big break -- the lead in the ABC TV comedy series "Bosom Buddies."

Hanks' subsequent credits include "Bachelor Party," "Splash," "Volunteers," "Nothing in Common," "Turner & Hooch," "Joe Versus the Volcano," "The Bonfire of the Vanities, " "A League of Their Own," "Punchline," "Big" (which earned him his first Academy Award nomination), and "Sleepless in Seattle."

Hanks made his feature directing debut with "That Thing You Do" for 20th Century Fox, having previously directed the "I'll Be Waiting" episode of the acclaimed Showtime cable series "Fallen Angels." He resides in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Rita Wilson.