SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
From an endearing Mormon missionary to a goofy animated snowman who likes warm hugs, Josh Gad has made a name for himself through offbeat characters. He's out with a new memoir called "In Gad We Trust." And recently, we asked him to tell us about three performances that have shaped him as an actor. The first one takes us all the way back to 1998. And that's the year Gad, who was a junior in high school, was deep in the world of speech and debate, the competition of forensics.
JOSH GAD: Much to my coach's chagrin, I wrote a 10-minute speech called Punchline about the therapeutic nature of comedy and laughter.
(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)
GAD: Humor is one of the most commonly utilized forms of communication today.
And throughout the year, I did awful, absolutely awful. I get to the national tournament - I do this original oratory. They sit me down. They tell me, you did not break to the octofinal rounds. The person who did break in front of you, there's the possibility that they plagiarized the speech. And so we're looking into it now, and if that's the case, then you would be the next person in. Turns out they were correct - it was not original. And I realized at that point, I have nothing to lose. Let me just go for it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)
GAD: You want to make friends? Use humor. You want to have a good job interview? Use humor. You want to lose 10 pounds in just 30 days? Use Jenny Craig.
(LAUGHTER)
GAD: I ended up coming from last and won the entire national championship somehow (laughter). And to this day, people come up to me and go, I know you from forensics, which is always a very odd thing to hear. I peaked in high school.
GAD: So in the words of Charlie Chaplin...
(LAUGHTER)
GAD: Every single thing that I end up doing in my career, there's a strange path to it. And from those surprising moments usually comes the greatest payoff. You know, "Book Of Mormon" was a perfect example of something that should not have worked on paper.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BAPTIZE ME")
GAD: (As Elder Cunningham, singing) I can't believe I'm about to baptize her.
One day out of the blue, I get a phone call from one of the composers of "Avenue Q." This guy, Bobby Lopez, says to me, Josh, I heard a demo of your voice. And I think you would be perfect for this new musical I'm writing with Trey Parker, Matt Stone - the creators of "South Park" - about the Mormons. And then I get the script, and I listen to the music, and first I hear...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO!")
ANDREW RANNELLS: (As Elder Price, singing) Hello. My name is Elder Price. And I would like to share with you the most amazing book.
GAD: And I'm like, oh, this is brilliant. Then I hear (singing) two by two, we're marching...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TWO BY TWO")
BRIAN SEARS AND KEVIN DUDA: (As Elder Grant and Elder Young, singing) Door to door, 'cause God loves Mormons and he wants some more.
GAD: I was convinced it was going to run for three months. And then, all of a sudden, it becomes one of the biggest comedy hits in musical theater history. I suddenly went from having no agency in my career to having all the agency in my career, and that was a very scary transition.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FROZEN")
GAD: (As Olaf) Ah. All right, let's start this thing over. Hi, everyone. I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs.
I was as giant a fan of Disney as anyone could be. I remember vividly sitting in a theater in November of 1992 and watching a movie called "Aladdin," and seeing Robin Williams bring this tour de force character to life called the Genie. And I turned to my mom in this dark theater, and I whispered, I want to do that one day.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FROZEN")
GAD: (As Olaf) Anna? Elsa? Sven? Samantha? (Laughter) I don't even know a Samantha (laughter).
When Olaf came into my life, it was shortly after we had had my first daughter, Ava. And I'm watching this beautiful young girl grow up. And she is full of this, you know, childlike wonderment. And I was so inspired by my own daughter.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FROZEN")
GAD: (As Olaf) Summer (laughter). Ooh. I'm just living the dream, Anna. Oh, how I wish this could last forever.
The key to all of the characters that I have fallen in love with over the years in these comedic sidekick roles is pathos. I knew that the pathos was going to make this a character that wasn't just funny, hopefully, but that also had enormous heart.
DETROW: That is actor Josh Gad. His new memoir is called "In Gad We Trust."
(SOUNDBITE OF LOUIS YORK AND ANTHONY HAMILTON SONG, "ALONE A LOT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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