Josh Gad facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Josh Gad
Gad at the 2014 Annie Awards
Born	Joshua Ilan Gad (1981-02-23) February 23, 1981 (age 44) Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Education	Carnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2002–present
Spouse(s)	Ida Darvish ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	2

Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is well-known for being the voice of Olaf in the Frozen movies and for playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. For his work as Olaf, Gad won two Annie Awards. For The Book of Mormon, he won a Grammy Award and was nominated for a Tony Award. He shared these awards with Andrew Rannells.

Josh Gad's Early Life and Education

Joshua Ilan Gad was born in Hollywood, Florida, on February 23, 1981. His mother works in real estate, and his stepfather is an investment advisor. Josh has two older brothers, a stepbrother, and a stepsister. His father, Sam Gad, was born into a Jewish family in Afghanistan and moved to Israel as a teenager. Josh believes his father's family might be from the Tribe of Gad, one of the ancient tribes of Israel. His mother was born in Germany to a Jewish family who survived the Holocaust. Josh was raised in the Jewish faith.

School and College Years

Gad finished high school in 1999 at the University School of Nova Southeastern University. While there, he won national championships in public speaking and humorous interpretation. He then went to the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts, graduating in 2003 with a degree in drama. He studied alongside other future Broadway stars like Leslie Odom Jr. and Rory O'Malley. He even based his portrayal of Olaf in Frozen on Rory O'Malley. During college, he also spent a semester studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia.

Josh Gad's Acting Career

Starting Out in Acting (2002–2008)

Josh Gad began his acting career in the 2002 film Mary and Joe. In 2005, he appeared on TV for the first time in an episode of the medical show ER. That same year, he joined the Broadway show The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. From 2007 to 2008, Gad starred in the TV comedy Back to You. He also had roles in the movies 21 and The Rocker in 2008.

Broadway Success and Voice Acting (2008–2012)

Josh Gad at the Streamy Awards

After Back to You, Gad became a regular correspondent on The Daily Show from 2009 to 2011. He was known for funny segments like "The War on Christmas." In 2010, he had a supporting role in the movie Love & Other Drugs and voiced a character in Marmaduke.

A big moment in his career came in 2011 when he played Elder Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. The show was a huge hit, and Gad was nominated for a Tony Award and won a Grammy Award for his performance. His last show was in June 2012.

In 2012, Gad also voiced the molehog Louis in Ice Age: Continental Drift. He also helped create and star in the TV comedy 1600 Penn, which was about a fictional First Family.

Becoming Olaf and More Film Roles (2013–2019)

In 2013, Josh Gad voiced Olaf in Disney's animated movie Frozen. This role made him famous worldwide. He also appeared in the films The Internship and Jobs, where he played Steve Wozniak.

In 2015, Gad starred in the comedies The Wedding Ringer and Pixels. He also co-starred with Billy Crystal in the TV comedy series The Comedians. In 2016, he voiced Chuck in The Angry Birds Movie.

In 2017, Gad voiced the dog Bailey in A Dog's Purpose. He also played LeFou in the live-action movie Beauty and the Beast. That same year, he appeared in the drama Marshall and the mystery film Murder on the Orient Express.

Gad continued to voice Bailey in A Dog's Journey in 2019. He also returned as Olaf in the sequel Frozen II and the video game Kingdom Hearts III.

Recent Projects and New Ventures (2020–Present)

Since 2020, Gad has been busy with many projects. He starred in the HBO science fiction comedy Avenue 5 and helped create, produce, and voice characters in the Apple TV+ animated musical comedy Central Park.

In 2020, he appeared in the fantasy adventure film Artemis Fowl, which was released on Disney+. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gad started a popular YouTube series called Reunited Apart. In this series, he brought together the casts of famous movies like Back to The Future and Lord of the Rings using video calls. The series also encouraged viewers to support charities.

From September 2023 to January 2024, he starred in the Broadway show Gutenberg! The Musical! with Andrew Rannells. Gad is also set to direct a movie about Chris Farley. In June 2024, he co-wrote a comic book series called The Writer, inspired by Jewish folklore. He also announced a picture book, PictureFace Lizzy, coming in fall 2024, which will be narrated by his Frozen co-star, Kristen Bell. Gad plans to publish a memoir called In Gad We Trust in 2025.

Josh Gad's Personal Life

In 2004, Josh Gad met actress Ida Darvish when they played a married couple in a play. They got married in 2008 and have two daughters. Gad has said that he loves the traditions of Judaism and also celebrates some traditions of his wife's Catholicism. He considers himself spiritual rather than strictly religious.

Gad has openly talked about his struggles with generalized anxiety disorder. He does this to help reduce the negative feelings and shame often linked with mental health issues. In 2018, he joined other celebrities in a project called #MyYoungerSelf through the Child Mind Institute. This campaign aims to make talking about mental health normal, especially for kids. The website features Gad and others sharing their own experiences and encouraging viewers to find help. Gad has shared that his YouTube series Reunited Apart helped him cope during the pandemic.

Josh Gad's Acting Roles

Movies

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Mary and Joe	Angel
2006	Razortooth	Jay Wells
2007	Watching the Detectives	Mark
2008	21	Miles
	The Rocker	Matt
2009	Crossing Over	Howie
	Big Guy	Rodney	Short film
2010	Marmaduke	Bandana Dog	Voice
	Love & Other Drugs	Josh Randall
2011	Mardi Gras: Spring Break	Bump (Bartholomew T. Brown)
2012	She Wants Me	Sam Baum
	Ice Age: Continental Drift	Louis	Voice
	Thanks for Sharing	Neil
2013	Jobs	Steve Wozniak
	The Internship	Headphones
	Frozen	Olaf	Voice
2014	Wish I Was Here	Noah Bloom
2015	The Wedding Ringer	Doug Harris
	Frozen Fever	Olaf	Voice; short film
	Pixels	Ludlow Lamonsoff
2016	The Angry Birds Movie	Chuck	Voice
2017	A Dog's Purpose	Bailey / Ellie / Tino / Buddy
	Beauty and the Beast	LeFou
	Marshall	Sam Friedman
	Murder on the Orient Express	Hector MacQueen
	Olaf's Frozen Adventure	Olaf (voice)	Voice; short film
2018	Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.	Himself	Documentary
2019	Little Monsters	Teddy McGiggle
	A Dog's Journey	Bailey	Voice
	The Angry Birds Movie 2	Chuck
	Frozen II	Olaf
2020	Artemis Fowl	Mulch Diggums
	Once Upon a Snowman	Olaf	Voice; short film
2021	Ghostbusters: Afterlife	Muncher	Voice
2023	Strays	Gus
	Once Upon a Studio	Olaf	Voice; short film
2025	A Tree Fell in the Woods	Mitch	Post-production
2027	The Angry Birds Movie 3	Chuck	Voice; in production
2028	Oh, the Places You'll Go!	TBA	Voice; pre-production
TBA	Adulthood	Noah	Post-production

Television Shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	ER	Sgt. Bruce Larabee	Episode: "Here and There"
2007–2008	Back to You	Ryan Church	Main role
2008	American Dad!	Art (voice)	Episode: "Pulling Double Booty"
2008, 2009	Numbers	Roy McGill	2 episodes
2009	Party Down	Jeffrey Ells	Episode: "California College Conservative Union Caucus"
2009–2011	The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Himself (correspondent)	5 episodes
2010	Bored to Death	Warren	Episode: "Make It Quick, Fitzgerald!"
2011	The Cleveland Show		Voice; episode: "Our Gang"
	Californication	Doctor	2 episodes
	Gigi: Almost American	Gigi	10 episodes; also executive producer
2011, 2020	Modern Family	Kenneth Ploufe	2 episodes: "Punkin Chunkin" and "Dead on a Rival"
2011	Good Vibes	Mondo (voice)	Main role
2012–2013	1600 Penn	Skip Gilchrist	Main role; also co-creator and executive producer
2012–2015	New Girl	Bearclaw	3 episodes: "Katie", "Birthday", "Walk of Shame"
2013	Hollywood Game Night	Himself	Episode: "America's Got Game Night"
2014	Monsters vs. Aliens	Internet	Voice; episode: "Bride of the Internet"
2015	The Comedians	Josh	Main role
	Sesame Street	Vincent Van Stop	Episode: "Bert's Sign Painting Challenge
	Phineas and Ferb	Wendell	Voice; 2 episodes
	TripTank	Louis	Voice; 1 episode
	Jeopardy!	Himself	Celebrity contestant
2016	Lip Sync Battle	Himself / Donald Trump	Episode: "Josh Gad vs. Kaley Cuoco"
	Sofia the First	Olaf	Voice; episode: "The Secret Library: Olaf and the Tale of Miss Nettle"
	LEGO Frozen Northern Lights		Voice; special
	Talking Dead	Himself	Guest
2017	Star Wars Rebels	LT-319	Voice; episode: "Double Agent Droid"
	South Park	Marcus Preston / Ms. McGullicutty	Voice; 1 episode; Also producer
2018	Bob's Burgers	Damon	Voice; episode: "Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now"
2019	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Himself	Guest host
2020–2022	Avenue 5	Herman Judd	Main cast
2020	At Home with Olaf	Olaf	Main role; voice
2020–2022	Central Park	Birdie / Ernst Von Gunten	Main cast; voice; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2020	Home Movie: The Princess Bride	Grandson	Episode: "Chapter One: As You Wish"
2021	Olaf Presents	Olaf	Main role; voice
	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Chiropractor	Episode: "Man Fights Tiny Woman"
2022–present	Wolf Like Me	Gary	Main cast
2022	The Boys	Himself	Episode: "Herogasm"; cameo
	The Tiny Chef Show		2 episodes
2023	History of the World, Part II	William Shakespeare	Episode: "I"
	Storybots: Answer Time	The Great Bubblini	Episode: "Bubbles"
	Solar Opposites	Pinecone / Rotten Peach / Jesse Guard #2	Voice; episode: "The Earth Rake (beta)"
2024	Dinner Time Live with David Chang	Himself	Episode: "Holiday Noodle Cook-Off"
2025	Wonder Man	0TBA	Post-production

Video Games

Web Series and Podcasts

Theater Performances

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Josh Gad para niños