Josh Gad Says He ‘Learned a Lot’ About Himself When Writing Memoir, Breaks Down Memorable Stories (Exclusive)

Josh Gad rips the Band-Aid off in his forthcoming memoir, In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some, proving that he’s so much more than just a musical Mormon and an animated snowman.

The triple threat sat down with Us Weekly exclusively to look back at some of his most memorable stories from the book (out Tuesday, January 14), including his slow rise to fame, which required putting in the work despite tough times and setbacks along the way. Today, however, Gad can say he’s officially made it. With this book, he tells both personal and professional tales. Confused about him calling it “a tell-some”? The actor was quick to set the record straight.

“It’s more of a joke. If anything, I tell all and then some,” Gad explained to Us. “I looked at the exercise, as I was getting further into it, as if it was therapy in front of a mirror. The more vulnerable I got, the more I allowed myself to go down that path — even though I was hesitant to, scared to and, maybe, resistant.”

Gad decided that he wanted to “give people a reason to read this” book, which meant being honest.

“That was sort of a kind of obvious decision, but also a profound one for me because I’m not usually an open book — no pun intended,” he explained. “I learned a lot about myself in the process of writing this and talking about all aspects from personal to career to family stuff.”

The Frozen star writes about having a father who was absent for most of his life and explains how that impacted his own journey into parenthood. (Gad shares Ava, 13, and Isabella, 10, with wife Ida Darvish.)

For those more interested in his Hollywood success, he also shares a lot of career anecdotes.

“I enjoyed the hell out of writing [the book], and I hope everyone who reads it takes away something that’s useful and inspires them,” he told Us. “At the very least, I hope they have a good laugh.”

Keep scrolling for more from Gad:

Live From New York … It’s Rejection

After his 2003 graduation from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, Gad decided to try out for Saturday Night Live. His friend Bryce Dallas Howard recruited her dad, famed director Ron Howard, to open his audition tape — yet Gad was turned down three times.

“I love failing because it gives me a platform to succeed. Don’t let others force you to give up on yourself. I think perseverance is as important as skill,” Gad shared. “I didn’t love it at the time, certainly hated it — but rejection was as important to me and continues to be as important to me as acceptance. A part of it is, ‘F— me? F— you. I’m gonna prove you wrong.’”

A Lifelong Struggle

“I had always been uncomfortable and ashamed of my overweight body,” Gad wrote in the book. By 2007, Hollywood had put him in a “loud fat best friend” box when it came to casting, something he worried would continue throughout his career.

“It’s always in the background,” he admitted to Us. “I hope discussing issues like struggles with weight [and] severe anxiety give people a sense [of], ‘If I can be here and do this and overcome those things but still deal with them, you’ve got this. We’ve got this together.’ I felt strongly that this was something I needed to talk about [in the book], as uncomfortable as it was.”

Befriending an Icon

Watching Aladdin at age 11 profoundly impacted Gad. Robin Williams’ Genie made him want to voice a Disney cartoon character (which he did with Olaf in 2013’s Frozen). After Gad met the legend during his run in The Book of Mormon, they started a friendship that ended too soon. (Williams died by suicide at age 63 in August 2014.)

“It’s so frustrating because you imagine somebody’s gonna be around forever. There was so much I planned to talk to him about. We had been speaking less and less. I saw him, I think, the year before he passed,” Gad remembered. “I could tell he was down. He wasn’t his vibrant self, but I didn’t really know what was going on. I didn’t want to burden him with any conversations, certainly about myself. I feel grateful that he would’ve had an opportunity to hear me talk about how he inspired me — it’s something I said to him personally.”

A Memorable Encounter

Years before Kevin Spacey’s fall from grace, Gad appeared alongside him in the 2008 movie 21. While filming, he wrote, Spacey would “force” him into an “impression-off” over dinners in Boston. (The disgraced actor has faced multiple sexual assault allegations since 2017, which he has denied. He was acquitted of nine charges in July 2023.)

“It was such a strange thing,” Gad told Us. “But also it felt like a sign of respect where he was really, I think, tickled by the fact that I could do voices.”

Gad explained that he was not apprehensive when bringing up Spacey in the book.

“I’m not saying anything uncomfortable,” he continued. “This is my life; these are the people I’ve encountered. Kevin Spacey happens to be one of them, and I have a very entertaining story to tell. I’m gonna leave the controversy to other writers but just tell you, hopefully, an anecdote that will make you go, ‘That’s wild.’”