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Q: I saw the newest "Toy Story" movie and recognized the voice of Rex, the dinosaur. I waited for the credits and saw he's played by Wallace Shawn, but I don't know the name. Would I recognize him if I saw him?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

You almost certainly would. He falls solidly in the "that guy!" category of Hollywood stars, one whose face (and, in Shawn's case, voice) is recognized instantly, but whose name goes mostly unremembered.

For example, when confronted with Shawn's balding, impish visage on screen, you might say, "Hey, it's that guy! The guy from 'Manhattan'!" That classic 1979 Woody Allen film was Shawn's first screen role, playing Diane Keaton's ex-husband.

A great many others may call him the guy from "The Princess Bride" (1987), in which he played the brilliant and scheming Vizzini. TV fans may refer to him as "That guy! He lived next to the Huxtables on 'The Cosby Show,'" which he did in a few episodes of the classic sitcom.

But without doubt most of today's younger folks (and their parents) would hear his voice and think of Rex, the anxious and insecure dinosaur from the three "Toy Story" films. That gig has since gotten him quite a bit of work, to the point that today the majority of his time is taken up with voice work (other notable "appearances" were in the 2004 Pixar hit "The Incredibles" and, just a few months ago, in "Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore").

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