Joan Cusack believes her ‘Toy Story’ role is the ‘most important’

Joan Cusack thinks her role in Toy Story is the "most important" thing she's ever done.

The 63-year-old actress has returned to voice cowgirl Jessie, who she first played in 1999's Toy Story 2, for the fourth time in Toy Story 5, and she loves being part of the franchise because of the lessons it can teach children, as well as offering them entertainment.

She told ABC, “It's been the most important thing I've done in my whole life.”

"That's what kids watch. So, to do something like that where you're contributing to their world was fun to think about,” she added.

And Joan teased Toy Story 5 will show some new sides to Jessie as the cowgirl gains maturity.

She said, “She kind of grows up to be, in this film, a real leader. She's brave, she's fearless, it just gets to some emotional depth that is kind of unexpected.”

The Shameless star, who has two sons with husband Richard Burke, has taken a step back from Hollywood in recent years and has enjoyed being a "normal person" in Chicago.

She told Variety, "I think because I've worked for a long time and you know, I feel so honoured to be able to work in this industry but it's also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person. It's kind of priceless. It's kind of cool."

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift has written a new song, I Knew It, I Knew You, for Toy Story 5, which is written from the perspective of Jessie, and Joan's co-star Tom Hanks recently revealed the cast weren't told about the track until it was released.

Speaking to E! News about Taylor's Toy Story tune, he said at that time, "We did not know. We were told the day it came out as a matter of fact.”