From his early days as a correspondent on The Daily Show to his breakthrough role as sweet compulsive liar Elder Cunningham in Broadway’s The Book Of Mormon, Josh Gad has carved out a special place in comedy history. Now he solidifies that in the scene-stealing role of Olaf, the naively optimistic snowman in Disney’s musical flick Frozen, which he discussed while in town on a press day.
Olaf is one of the most lovable characters in recent memory. Did that come across in the script?
I knew it was a special role, but seeing it play in front of an audience has been one of the great rewards of my life. You hope when you’re doing it that you’re nailing it so people will consider it as timeless a character as those that have come before, whether it’s the Genie in Aladdin, Timon and Pumbaa or Sebastian.
Was it lonely taping the part in a booth by yourself?
I’d play off the directors who were reading the lines. It left a lot to the imagination, filling in the blanks, but it was also liberating because it’s just you playing in a sound booth. You can improvise and have fun. A lot of improvised lines made the final cut, which makes me enormously proud.
There’s Olaf merchandise, and he even has a Twitter account (@OlafSnowman). How surreal is that?
What was really surreal was going to Disneyland and seeing my character host World Of Colour – a nighttime water show – and be an audio-animatronic, with my voice coming out. Bizarre.
Does your daughter understand all this?
She’s going to be three in December, and she not only gets all this but is loving it. Yesterday we were in a cab in New York City and she refused to get out because my character popped up on the TV screen and started talking. She said, “Why are we leaving? That’s Daddy! We have to stay and listen” even though I was right there.
Would you do a spinoff?
Hopefully I’ll play Olaf till I’m in an old-age home and no longer sound like him because I’m crazy.
What was it like to record In Summer, which is destined for classic status?
A dream. You think of songs like Be Our Guest or Friend Like Me or Under The Sea. To get one of those is insane. On top of that, I got to collaborate with Bobby Lopez, who co-wrote The Book Of Mormon, and his wife, Kristen [Anderson-Lopez], and Bobby knows what my voice does. The collaborative nature of this was unique. Generally, you don’t get the chance to work with the creators.
Speaking of The Book Of Mormon, did you know it would become such a phenomenon?
I got involved in it four years before it got to Broadway. I knew it was special, but I never knew it would be monumentally, pop-culturally so relevant. What it’s become has transcended any of my wildest dreams.
You started out as a correspondent for The Daily Show. How important was that?
Immensely important, one of the great opportunities of my career. Jon Stewart, Trey [Parker] and Matt [Stone]: these are people who will be studied in satire classes for years. To get my training wheels on with them was incredible.
Interview Clips
Josh Gad on how much he saw of Olaf’s design before voicing the role:
On the similarities and differences between Olaf and Book Of Mormon’s Elder Cunningham:
On the fact that there are a lot of actors in the movie who have played on Broadway and aren’t necessarily A-list film stars:
On helping to create the character of Elder Cunningham in Mormon:
On the cancellation of his TV series 1600 Penn:
On playing stand-up comic Sam Kinison in a recent-announced Larry Charles movie:
