- Josh Gad best known as voice of Olaf in Frozen
- Auditioned for Avatar in 2006
- Resembled a smurf when digitised for the film
Actor Josh Gad, best known for voicing the character Olaf in Disney’s Frozen, missed out on a role in Avatar because he resembled a “tall, overweight Smurf”.
Gad’s acting career began with guest roles in film and TV, before taking to the stage on Broadway to replace Dan Fogler in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He starred alongside Kelsey Grammar in TV sitcom Back To You and in feature films Pixels and The Angry Birds Movie. Gad also returned to Broadway with a starring role in the smash hit The Book of Mormon.
In 2006, Gad was told by David Stone – producer of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – that if he found himself a new opportunity, he’d support him leaving the Broadway show.
The 43-year old actor auditioned to play the part of a Na’vi character, which received initial praise from director James Cameron. But, after seeing Gad digitized, his physical appearance wasn’t quite what Cameron was looking for.
Gad would have played Norm Spellman
In his new memoir, In Gad We Trust, he revealed “I put myself on tape and shortly thereafter got a call that Cameron wanted to fly me to Los Angeles for a final callback at his Lightstorm production offices. I apparently did not get the role because, while James Cameron was said to be thrilled with my audition, when I was turned into a digital Avatar I supposedly looked like a tall, overweight Smurf.”
If cast in the film, Gad would have played the role of Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) best friend and human scientist Norm Spellman, translator to the Na’vi race. Joel David Moore was cast in the role instead.
Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time, raking in $2.9 billion worldwide to date. The sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, currently sits in third place with a lifetime gross of $2.3 billion. Cameron’s third instalment, Avatar: Fire and Ash is being released in December.
Josh Gad’s worst film of his career?
Gad also named Mardi Gras: Spring Break as the “single worst movie” he has made during his career, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
“I began to grow really concerned that I was going down a path of playing the loud fat best friend in every project I was doing…any dreams I had of following in the footsteps of Philip Seymour Hoffman or John Goodman were soon going to be dashed if I stayed on this path. I knew I needed to branch out and attempt to have people see me in a new and unexpected way”.
Despite the setbacks and concerts over being typecast, Gad eventually went on to find fame. His most recent work includes the television drama series Wolf Like Me and voicing of a dog in the 2023 comedy Strays. He is currently working with Mel Brooks on a sequel to Brooks’ 1987 comedy classic Spaceballs.
