Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an actor from the United States. He is most recognized for his roles as Olaf in the Frozen franchise, Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, and Le Fou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast live-action adaption.
Early Years
Josh Gad was born Joshua Ilan Gad in Hollywood, Florida on February 23, 1981. Susan and Sam, both of Jewish origin and natives of Germany and Afghanistan, respectively, had Josh and his two older brothers, Jeff and Jason, before divorcing in 1987.
Susan subsequently wed investment advisor Stanford Schwartz, giving Josh a stepbrother and a stepsister.
Gad attended the University School of Nova Southeastern University, where he won the National Forensics League National Tournament Championships in 1998 and 1999 for Original Oratory and Humorous Interpretation, respectively.
In 2003, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts, where he entered after graduating in 1999. Josh completed a semester at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia.
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Career
Gad’s first film, “Mary and Joe,” was released in 2002. Three years later, he debuted on television in an episode of NBC’s “ER” and on Broadway in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”
In 2007, he starred in the movies “Watching the Detectives” and the sitcom “Back to You” In the series, Josh portrayed news director Ryan Church, with Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, and Fred Willard, and future “Modern Family” star Ty Burrell.
In 2008, Gad played alongside Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, and Emma Stone in “The Rocker,” which appeared in the heist drama “21,” provided his voice to Fox’s “American Dad!,” and made a special appearance on the CBS sitcom “Numb3rs.”
Josh was a correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” from 2009 to 2011. He also appeared in the films “Crossing Over,” “Love & Other Drugs,” and “Marmaduke” (voice only) and developed and starred in the web series “Gigi: Almost American” during this period.
Gad returned to Broadway in 2011 to play Elder Cunningham in “The Book of Mormon,” which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical that same year. The musical, composed by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, has earned over $500 million.
In June 2012, Josh left the production to serve as a star and co-executive producer on “1600 Penn,” a sitcom he co-created with Jon Lovett and Jason Winer. In 2012, he provided the voice of Louis the mole hog in the computer-animated picture “Ice Age: Continental Drift,” which grossed $877,2 million worldwide.
In 2013, Gad co-starred alongside Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in “The Internship,” portrayed Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in “Jobs,” and provided the voice for Olaf the snowman in “Frozen.”
He would repeat his role in “Frozen II” (2019), “Frozen Fever” (2015), and “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” (TV special) (2017). “Frozen” grossed $1.280 billion worldwide, while “Frozen II” earned $1.450 billion.
After “Frozen,” Josh participated in the films “Wish I Was Here” (2014), “The Wedding Ringer” (2015), and “Pixels” (2015). In 2017, he starred as LeFou in “Beauty and the Beast,” which grossed over $1 billion.
In 2015, Gad co-starred in “The Comedians” alongside Billy Crystal, competed on “Celebrity Jeopardy!,” and appeared on “Sesame Street.”
In recent years, Gad has lent his voice to various projects, including “The Angry Birds Movie” (2016), “The Angry Birds Movie 2” (2019), “A Dog’s Purpose” (2017), and “A Dog’s Journey” (2019) as well as “Star Wars Rebels” (2017), “South Park” (2017), and “Bob’s Burgers” (2017). (2018).
During the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak, Josh began hosting the YouTube series “Reunited Apart,” which used video conferencing to rejoin the casts of films like “Ghostbusters” and “Back to the Future.”
In 2020, he will also star in “Artemis Fowl,” “Avenue 5,” “Central Park,” and “Home Movie: The Princess Bride,” and he is expected to reprise his “Beauty and the Beast” role in a Disney+ prequel series that he co-created; he will also serve as the show’s writer and executive producer.
What Is Josh Gad’s Net Worth?
Josh Gad is an American actor with a $14 million net worth. Gad is most known for his roles as Elder Cunningham in the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon” and Olaf in Disney’s “Frozen” trilogy.
He has appeared in over 30 films, including “The Rocker,” “Jobs,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Murder on the Orient Express” (2017).
Josh had recurring roles on Fox’s “Back to You” from 2007 to 2008, NBC’s “1600 Penn” from 2012 to 2013, and FX’s “The Comedians” in 2015, and he has appeared as a guest star on such shows as “Party Down” (2009), “Californication” (2011), “Modern Family” (2011, 2020), and “New Girl” (2012–2015).
Gad began acting on HBO’s “Avenue 5” and voiced Birdie on Apple TV+’s “Central Park” in 2020. He also co-created and produces “Central Park.”
Private Life
On May 10, 2008, Josh wed Ida Darvish, who co-starred with him in a 2004 production of David Ives’ “All in the Timing.” The couple’s daughters Ava and Isabella were born on December 1, 2010, and February 17, 2014, respectively.
Theo Gabel, the son of Bryce Dallas Howard and Josh’s close buddy Seth Gabel, has Gad as his godfather. Although Josh was raised Jewish and Ida is Catholic, he describes himself as spiritual but not religious.
Winners and Nominees
In 2011, Gad was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in “The Book of Mormon.” He also won an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
In 2008, he and his “21” co-stars received the Special Award for Best Ensemble at the ShoWest Convention, and in 2011, “Gigi: Almost American” won the New Media Film Festival Award for Best Web Series.
Josh has received a number of accolades for his voiceover work in the “Frozen” franchise, including four Behind the Voice Actors Awards, two Annie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production, and a Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Male Voice from an Animated Movie.
In 2012, he was nominated for the American Comedy Award for Breakthrough Performer of the Year. In 2014, he won the Online Film & Television Association award for Best Voice-Over Performance for “Frozen.”
“Beauty and the Beast” garnered Gad nominations for the Teen Choice Award for Choice: Scene Stealer and the MTV Movie + TV Award for Best Duo (shared with Luke Evans).