Inside Out 2 cast guide - who is voicing the emotions in the Pixar sequel?
The Bear star Ayo Edebiri is one of the exciting new cast members in the sequel.
Inside Out 2 has landed in cinemas, bringing fans back into Riley's mind as four new emotions join the original emotions from the first movie.
The sequel expands on its emotionally complex coming-of-age story using the Pixar formula – a movie that is deliciously funny and entertaining for kids, while offering an incredibly smart and nuanced portrayal of human psychology for adults.
You might be wondering who is voicing the new emotions and why some of the OG emotions sound a little different, so we've delved into the emotions to explain who's voicing each of the emotions.
Inside Out 2 expands on its emotionally complex coming-of-age story using the Pixar formula – a movie that is deliciously funny and entertaining for kids, while offering an incredibly smart and nuanced portrayal of human psychology for adults.
So here's your definitive guide to the amazing voices behind the emotions in this sequel, including exciting additions like The Bear star Ayo Edebiri and Stranger Things' Maya Hawke.
There is also a surprising cameo for I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! winner Sam Thompson, who voices Security Man Sam for the UK version of the film.
Amy Poehler is Joy
Amy Poehler is back as the happiest emotion, Joy, who was the leader of the pack in Inside Out.
With her electric blue hair and green summer dress, Joy radiates positivity inside Riley's brain while learning that all emotions have a purpose, even her polar opposite Sadness. In Inside Out 2, a new foe arises from the pits of puberty – Anxiety – so Joy will have to up her game.
"The content touches me so deeply as a grown woman, and it touches the young child inside of me," Poehler told The Hollywood Reporter back in April.
"This second one [Inside Out 2] digs into the idea that at a certain age, new emotions like anxiety show up and everything becomes complicated and you become status-driven. You start to feel almost nostalgic for the easier, more basic emotions like sadness and fear," she explained.
Amy Poehler is best known for her role as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation, as well as her comedy collaborations with Tina Fey. Recently she starred in Netflix movies Moxie and Wine Country, and she co-wrote the hit show Russian Doll.
Phyllis Smith is Sadness
Phyllis Smith is the voice behind Sadness, who is a constant meme-maker and one of Inside Out 2's main characters.
In the first movie, we learned that all emotions have a purpose, even Sadness. Especially Sadness! We all need a good cry from time to time. A cozy turtleneck jumper too.
As the sequel introduces new and more complex emotions to represent Riley's teenage era, fans will get to see how this blue-skinned (and blue-hearted) character evolves and interacts with the rest of her colleagues.
Phyllis Smith is best known for her role as Phyllis in the US version of The Office, as well as movies like Bad Teacher. In fact, it was her hilarious deadpan delivery in those works that secured her the job of Sadness in Inside Out. She also starred in Netflix's hit show The OA.
Lewis Black is Anger
Stand-up comedian Lewis Black is also reprising his role as Anger in Inside Out 2 after his explosive voice performance in the first movie.
Dressed as a middle-aged man on his way to the office and with a furrowed brow always on, Anger is the epicentre of all of Riley's frustrations. As she becomes a teenager and her world expands, so will her anger.
Lewis Black was perfectly cast as this fiery emotion, as his brand of comedy is mainly based on angrily ranting about a variety of topics.
Though most well-known for his comedy work, Black has also starred in films like Accepted and guest-starred on popular TV shows like Law & Order and The Big Bang Theory.
Tony Hale is Fear
For Inside Out 2, Tony Hale is replacing Barry star Bill Hader as the most scaredy-cat emotion, Fear.
Fear's colour is purple, while his outfit is giving panicked substitute high-school teacher. It's the emotion that makes Riley be careful, sometimes too careful, as fears can lead both to caution and self-doubt. When Anxiety shows up, it will be interesting to see how Fear plays a part in the teenager's mental health.
Tony Hale had his breakout role as the hilarious Buster Bluth on Arrested Development in 2003, a character who actually shares a lot of traits with Fear. He is also well known for his role as Gary Walsh in the critically-acclaimed TV series Veep.
This is not Hale's first Pixar role – he was also the voice of Forky in Toy Story 4.
Liza Lapira is Disgust
Liza Lapira takes over from The Office star Mindy Kaling as Disgust.
Disgust is all about attitude — she's the stereotypical sassy girl with perfect (green) hair and stylish outfit that can't stand the sight of something gross. Apparently, director Pete Docter thought it would be funny to make her look like broccoli, since Riley hates it.
You might remember Liza Lapira as Liz, Emma Stone's character's best friend in hit rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love. The Filipina-American actor also starred in the CBS show The Equalizer alongside Queen Latifah.
Maya Hawke is Anxiety
Stranger Things' Maya Hawke voices something way scarier than a Demogorgon in Inside Out 2 — she is Riley's Anxiety.
You know things are getting more serious in this sequel when this emotion comes into play. With orange skin, crazy hair and a long-sleeve striped shirt and high-waisted trousers, this new emotion joins the party as a control freak who threatens to destabilise Riley's mind.
It's simply genius that she shows up in Headquarters carrying luggage. Anxiety is partly about the things that haunt us and that we can't help but carry with us.
Daughter of movie stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Maya Hawke had her breakout role as Robin in Netflix's Stranger Things. She's also had supporting roles in critically-acclaimed movies like Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, Asteroid City and Maestro.
Ayo Edebiri is Envy
Everybody's favourite rising star Ayo Edebiri joins the cast of Inside Out 2 as the absurdly adorable Envy.
This new emotion is fascinated by everything around her, which starts as curiosity and ends up consuming her with jealousy — she wants everything everyone else has. Envy has a small body, big eyes and aquamarine skin and hair, a childlike appearance that makes her incredibly cute but also lethal in her toxic need to compare herself (Riley) to everyone else.
Ayo Edebiri rose to fame thanks to her role in The Bear, which is coming back this month for season three. Since then, she has starred in the hilarious teenage comedies Bottoms and Theater Camp, as well as in the independent gem The Sweet East.
Edebiri has already shown her voice acting skills in Netflix's Big Mouth and the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Adèle Exarchopoulos is Ennui
Adèle Exarchopoulos is the voice of Ennui, which is another word for boredom. It just sounds better in French.
A master of the eye-roll, Ennui is a characteristic teenage emotion, so it's no surprise she's joining the emotions team at the Headquarters. Her body is thin and long, with violet hair cascading from her lolling head, and she always has her smartphone to hand.
Ennui is described as the "teenage apathy of Riley's personality, her lack of interest in anything but her TikTok feed."
French actor Adèle Exarchopoulos already has some Pixar experience, as she starred as Ember in the French dub of 2023's Elemental. Before that, she starred in the award-winning romantic drama Blue Is the Warmest Colour, for which she became the youngest person to ever win the Palme D'Or at Cannes.
Paul Walter Hauser is Embarrassment
Paul Walter Hauser is voicing Embarrassment in Inside Out 2.
Big, shy and pink-skinned, this emotion is the embodiment of Riley's social awkwardness. He uses his hoodie to hide from the world, afraid that his gentleness is way too fragile to expose it to everyone else.
Paul Walter Hauser is a rising star in Hollywood at the moment, having secured a key role in the MCU's upcoming Fantastic Four reboot and won an Emmy for his role in Apple TV+'s limited series Black Bird.
He had a breakout role playing Tonya Harding’s idiotic would-be "bodyguard" in I, Tonya alongside Margot Robbie, as well as a lead role in Clint Eastwood's biopic Richard Jewell.
TV fans might also know him from the popular series Cobra Kai. He also voiced Dark in 2024's Netflix and DreamWorks animated film Orion and the Dark.
June Squibb is Nostalgia
June Squibb is the lovable Nostalgia in Inside Out 2.
This emotion looks like a traditional grandma, with big grey hair, pink glasses and a warm cup of tea in her hands. As Riley grows up, Nostalgia makes an appearance as the teenager starts to experience a very common feeling – a yearning for the past.
As Anxiety notes, though, "Nostalgia still has ten years, two graduations, and a best friend's wedding until they need her".
June Squibb's first film role was in Woody Allen's 1990 romantic comedy Alice, when she was 60. Since then, she has played supporting characters in movies like The Age of Innocence and Meet Joe Black, and she earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role in Nebraska in 2013.
Squibb has plenty of experience at Disney and Pixar – she has voiced characters in Ralph Breaks the Internet, Toy Story 4 and Soul.
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
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