Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Josh Gad

Episode Date: January 26, 2020

Actor and comedian Josh Gad may be known best as the voice of Olaf the snowman in the two biggest animated movies in the history of Hollywood: Frozen and Frozen 2. But Gad originally rose to fame on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for his role in the hit musical “The Book of Mormon.” In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Gad at his favorite bar in the theater district to talk about his journey from that show to his latest project, an HBO series called Avenue 5 set in outer space. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. I'm very excited again this week about our guest. He's not only one of the best guys in Hollywood. He's one of the funniest guys in Hollywood. His name is Josh Gad. He became a star first in the Book of Mormon, the Broadway sensation that's still running there right now. He played Elder Cunningham. That really put him on the map. And then, of course, his life exploded in 2013. when he was the voice of Olaf in Frozen, the lovable snowman, Olaf, the film that made more than a billion dollars in the sequel that just surpassed it. I think it's at like $1.3 billion now. It's Frozen, too. My man is a box office draw. He's also in a new show on HBO, a hilarious series from the same people who brought you Veep. It's called Avenue 5, and it's set 40 years in the future. It's about a luxury cruise ship for. space tourism. So it's a spaceship 40 years in the future. And he plays this guy named Herman Judd, who you'll hear about him as Josh and I talk. He's an idiot. I'll just say it that. He's a billionaire buffoon. He's a combination of all these sort of young billionaires that we've seen, these arrogant young billionaires in our culture. He kind of mashes a bunch of them together. Some of them with respect, others with disdain. He'll walk through that. He's a guy who can do a lot.

He's a really funny guy. He was in Beauty and the Beast, another billion-dollar movie. He was in Jobs, the movie about Steve Jobs. He plays Steve Wozniak in that film. He can do a lot, hysterical guy. And he brought me to a place, as you'll hear, I could never get in on my own. It's sort of a speakeasy in New York's theater district. It's called Bar Central.

You kind of got to be on the list type of thing. And he talks about growing up, idolizing all these actors and actresses. And then when Book of Mormon blew up in 2011 and 2012, he was in the club. And he got to go sit at these tables and look over and see his heroes like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Stephen Sondheim and all these incredible actors that, like I said, he had idolized his entire life. And then he felt, oh my gosh, I'm in the club. Thanks to Book of Mormon. I think you'll really enjoy our conversation right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast, Inside Bar Central with Josh Gad. here it is

what's the significance of this place to you the significance of this place is I lost a bet and couldn't afford it this would have been my apartment had it not turned into a speakeasy restaurant the truth is I couldn't get in here without you no you really couldn't and the other truth is is you also couldn't get in here with me

I would come here pretty much every weekend after I did Book of Mormon it's who's who of incredible musical theater folk. Martin Short would be at a table. You would see the late Phillips Seymour Hoffman. On any given night, you would see Liza Minnelli,

Nathan Lane. And it's just one of those places where I think it was the first time that I actually felt like, oh, I belong in this community. So it was amazing. Now not so much. Now they, when I come in, they say go back to Hollywood. Go back to Hollywood Pretty Boy.

Pretty Boy. All the time, they all scream Pretty Boy at me. I'm like, all right, comment down, guys. All right, let's go grab a table. Yes. I'm with GAD. Gad party of two. Clearly, it's very busy right now, so we're going to have difficulty.

So after we took a stroll around the dining room and Josh assured me that I would never, ever get into that place without him at my side. And his great celebrity, we sat down for a conversation about his new series, Avenue 5, and a lot more. So we've already come in. We know this. That was a great entrance. Was that a strong entrance?

I thought so. I thought so. It felt like it evoked a lot of those, like, you know, old sort of like 60-minute-style entrances. Right. It was like, we're about to reveal something really important about the tobacco industry. And here's Josh Gatt. Mike Wallace and the Ayatola. Yes, yes.

You don't know what's going to come through that curtain. Is it usually more crowded? No, no, no, no. It's very, it's about, it can only service about two people at night. But you get the best service of match. That's why it's so hard to get into. Yeah. Here's the actual truth about this place is it's not crowded.

But it's all the seats are taken. But that's why it's so hard to get in because they don't want it to be a scene. It's just you'll sit in a booth and you'll look behind you and there'll be Stephen Sondheim. Oh, my gosh. You know. So it's pretty amazing. and the energy, especially because when you're done with a two-show day, especially, you have so much adrenaline. You have all of this energy that wants to go somewhere.

And to come and sort of share combat stories from that day or just in general, it's always so nice to be with like-minded folk who've all sort of had that day. It's got to be like, I guess if you're in the room, you're in the club, like, can you walk up to Stephen Sondheim? Oh, I can totally walk up to Stephen Sondheim and he won't know who I am. And I'll say, I'm such a fan. And he'll say, okay, please leave me alone. Except you at the time were the hottest show on Broadway. That is true. Sondheim actually was a huge fan of Book of Mormon.

He is obsessed with Matt. He actually, Matt and Trey, when Matt and Trey wrote South Park, Stephen Sondheim at the time called it the best. musical of a decade. Sondheim said that? He loves Tremack. Wow, that's incredible. All right, so he would recognize you and let you pull up a seat.

Yeah, I never had the courage to do it. But there were certain people that I would approach. But, you know, you just, you feel like you're part of theater royalty. The first time I ever came to New York, the first show I ever saw was Fidler on the Roof. And I remember watching Topal on stage, play this iconic character of Tavia.

And I remember thinking of myself, man, like, I want to do that so badly one day. I want to be a part of, I want to be, to quote, Lin-Manuel Miranda, I want to be in the room where it happens. And that, like, feeling of finally being there and, like, walking among idols, I want it to be Nathan Lane growing up. And then you're sitting, and Nathan Lane is right behind. Nathan? No, he's not here now, but he's right behind you.

So that feeling was something that I just, I think the pride that I was able to take, especially in that year book of Mormon, was really something special. And that went from zero to 100 pretty quickly. Yeah. That hit Broadway and people are like, what is this show? And then it was the only thing going on. Yeah, we didn't, you know, usually you would do an out-of-town tryout. You would go off Broadway.

They were went all in. I have to admit this now. It's embarrassing to say. I thought the show was going to close in three months. Really? I was like, this show is too controversial for Broadway to possibly accept it. We're saying all sorts of things that are not really going to fly with the blue-haired 80-year-old crowd. And this weird thing happened where I remember our first preview, and it was full theater.

And then the next day, there was a lottery line outside. And there was like 50 people waiting outside. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. And then the second day, there were suddenly 100 people waiting outside. By the fifth day of that week, we had about 500 people standing outside of this theater for a show that hadn't opened. It was just all word of mouth suddenly being like, I have to go see what they're doing in that space. So it was pretty surreal. I see a lot of Broadway.

The only thing I can compare it to is Hamilton. I mean, Hamilton more recently. Right. Same tone, all both. both doing it very similar thing. In terms of like a phenomenon, and a phenomenon. In that moment, Book of Mormon was it,

and you had to get tickets, and the tickets were hard to get, and they were expensive, and did you know a guy to get into the show? So what was it like to be at the center of a phenomenon, walking out of the stage door, and there are huge crowds waiting for you and everything else? It was, it was so surreal.

You know, I remember going to see the producers when it was at the height. It was like a, the similar thing of, like, you had to like a big bar and steal to get a ticket. But that was two stars. I mean, Nathan and Matt and Mel Brooks. This was just the expectation wasn't there. So suddenly you have a show called The Book of Mormon, which is a very strange name for anything,

but especially a Broadway musical. And you're suddenly sitting there and you're looking out in the audience and you see Tom Hanks and you see Bono and you see like Stephen Tocel. and you see like politicians and you see like everybody and it's just it's you're looking around and you're just pinching yourself going is this really is this really happening um and and you know to the very end i i just had this feeling of i'll never be a part of something like this again it's

just it's a once in a lifetime experience are you the kind of actor because i interviewed ben platte a couple months ago and biont came to see dear evan henson and he said that he had to know before the show that she was there. Because if he's in the middle of a big song, he looks down and there's Beyonce, everything shuts down. That happened to me three times. I got distracted when Oprah was in the audience. I got distracted when Bono was in the audience because I actually put on a pair of Bono's sunglasses in Book of Mormon

and sing that one part in, I am Africa, just like Bono. And I remember being like, oh, God, I have to sing to Bono as Bono. This is very surreal. And then the third one is surprising, but he was my idol, and that was Gene Wilder. Oh, wow. I remember seeing Gene in the audience and thinking to myself, this is probably going to end up being the proudest moment of my life. The other one was my very final performance, another idol of mine, Philip Seymour Hoffman, was at the show.

And afterwards, came up to me. And he said, my Philip Seymour Hoffman impression, he goes, you're really, really, really good. Like, really good. And I was like, that is the coolest thing anybody's ever said to me. He's like, we should do something together. And sadly, we never got to.

But, like, that experience of being able to have the guy that you think is the great as actually. in the world come up to you and say something like that to you. It was such a great swan song for, like, me to go out on. Isn't it amazing the power of those few words as a young actor or a young, whatever you're doing if somebody you look up to gives you that little bit of encouragement? Yes. And it felt so real because he wasn't blowing smoke.

He wasn't saying you're amazing. He wasn't saying you're incredible. He was saying terms that were legitimately like, I respect you. Like, I really respect what you did and that. And then the other one was Robin Williams, who lived in my apartment building at the time I was doing Mormon. He was doing Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. And we would come home from work, and Robin would just literally make me laugh and cry every night with an anecdote about the show and the day. What, at the apartment?

He would come over? We would basically show up into the house. the lobby every night at the same time. And we were just talking the lobby. And then when he left, he left me his bike. And I didn't accept it. I was like, Robin, look at my body. You're wasting a bicycle on me. This is what I'm going to stare at it. I'm never going to do anything. And it really is one of the great regrets of my life is that I didn't keep that bicycle from Robin Williams. Oh, man. That's amazing. Yeah, I mean, to be in this room with all those people must have been like this crazy validation of achieving what you wanted to achieve when you were a kid.

It really was. And it's one of those things where, you know, this environment bridges the gap. There's something very unique about Broadway. Once you're in that club, you're sort of in that club. And so it's got this kind of historic significance to it because it's not just the Broadway community of today. It's the people who helped shift Broadway to where it is now. It's the people who did all the hard work like the Sondheims of the world, right? Like when they were alive, Kander and Ab. It's the ones who gave us the foundation by which we could build things

like Book of Mormon, like Hamilton, like Dear Evan Hanson. You know, and I think it's a really exciting time right now, especially in the world of musicals, because you have all these young composers like Lynn, like Paskin Paul, and of course Bobby and Kristen, who did Mormon, and Bobby did Avenue Q and Frozen. So it's a really cool time, I think. Would you come back and do Broadway? You're a busy man. In a heartbeat. You would. In a heartbeat. I've talked about it. You know, for a while I was going to come back and do a funny thing happen on the way to the forum, and I still hold out hope that the time, the right time comes. It's a scheduling thing. And But I want to.

I really do. If you do it, you might be able to get a table back here again. That's why I want to do it. Only for an interview. Can you get in at this point? I really really need to do a Broadway show so that I can have dinner here. There's really no other incentive. Well, here's my segue.

You might be able to get a table after people see Avenue 5. That was a great segue. That's why they pay you the big money to do television. Not moderate. Moderate money to do television. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I will tell you that Avenue 5 is the most insane thing I've ever been a part of. It's so, he is such a brilliant satirist.

Armando. Armando Ionucci. Having worked with, again, that's why you do big interviews because you know people's day. I was testing you. And you succeeded. I do it. I got all the answers. You succeeded.

Keep them coming. But working with getting my start with John Stewart on the Daily Show and then we're working with Trey and Matt, a Book of Mormon, and now Armando on Avenue 5, it's a masterclass in satire. And what Aram does, what he does so brilliantly, whether it's Veep or Death of Stalin, is he finds such a human way in, right, so that you can't help but laugh because you understand

the truth in all of these characters and all their relationships. Avenue 5 is literally a show set in space, 40 years in the future, with this insane, sane trillionaire named Herman Judd at the center of it who's created this giant floating phallus of a ship called Avenue 5. And, you know, the first episode of the show plays out like Act 3 of the Titanic. And then everything goes downhill from there. And I've likened the show to Lord of the Flies in space, right?

It's like Lord of the Flies by way of Gilligan's Island because it's really fundamentally about the breakdown of society in a bubble. It's about all of the anxiety that we have as humans. It's about all of the fear we have of what happens when social norms and a class system no longer reflects that which we've been taught, right? So what happens when you're on a ship and you're supposed to go on a trip, on a luxury trip for a couple of weeks and then it becomes a couple of months and then it becomes a couple of years? What do you do? What does, what does it mean to be a captain if you no longer care to respect your captain because you're stranded. What does it mean to be in the service industry and have to change bed sheets when you know

that you're not going to get paid for another few years at the very earliest? So it's really about that breakdown. And it's so funny because you have these people in a bubble and the bubble's about to burst. And there's nowhere for them to go. And there's nowhere for them to go. They're trapped. So you play Herman Judd. Yes.

Who... Again, why you're such a great job. Thank you. He's doing all this without any notes. Three for three. He's just saying names without notes. There's no teleprompter. He's looking in my beautiful eyes,

and he's remembering all the information that he read before I interviewed. And it's hard not to get lost in the eyes. It requires some extra focus. Thank you. I love that we came to speak easy and got New York City tap water. You can tap ice water. Fantastic. But yes, I play Herman Judd.

So he forgive me is a bit of an idiot. I forgive you. He is. He's very rich. And I see so many real-life modern figures mush together. Tell me what you see. Well, I've heard you talk a little bit about it, so it's cheating. Okay.

But there's obviously some Branson physically with the hair. Richard Branson, yes. There's, you know, there's sort of the Elon Musk, be ambitious. We can do anything going out of space. You know what he's really based on? He's based on. So there's a type of 21st century entrepreneur, which is the sort of get rich, quick scheme entrepreneur. People like Billy McFarland, who created Fire Festival.

People like Elizabeth Holmes, who created Theranos. They're great salespeople, even though they don't have a product necessarily worthy of selling. And they're able to convince people to give them a bunch of money for an idea that, doesn't even exist. That's who Judd is an extension of. I fear that the evolution or de-evolution of that type of entrepreneur is eventually going to be a Herman Judd-like person. So the basis for the hairdo, for instance, was based on this anecdote that I read that Elizabeth

Holmes bought these mock turtlenecks in bulk that Steve Jobs used to away. To give that sense of, I'm the next Steve Jobs. So I thought it would be great if Herman Judd went to a hairstylist and said, give me the Branson. And so that's why he's got this blonde mane. We should say that in their own ways, Richard Branson and Elon Musk are geniuses. They're geniuses.

And Herman Judd is not. Is not. Not a genius. So there's a distinction there. There is a distinction there. Having said that, do you necessarily need to be qualified to be in a position of power anymore? Right? Like, you know.

Make a sale. Yeah. Do you need to be qualified to be president of the United States? Do you need to be qualified to be the head of a major corporation? I don't know. I don't know that where we're headed is necessarily a great place based on anything other than popularity or based on anything other than this idea of he's got enough charisma to lead. So give him the job.

So it's sort of an amalgamation of all of those ideas. And the truth is, is I fear it's not that far out of the realm of possibility to have an entrepreneur like this with thousands of lives in the balance. Right. Well, the other great representation in the show of that sort of death of expertise is the captain himself, played by Hugh Lurie. Who's just a genius. And I wish I could give away why it, because it immediately becomes clear what's going on here. Again, great journalism. He's holding back secrets that he knows because we sent him the information before.

And he knows not to reveal it because we call that a spoiler alert in our industry. Yeah, I watch the screen. Thanks, man. I hope this interview airs because you're doing great. It'll be reviewed by legal. Some of it might make it way out. But so at the end of the first episode it becomes clear that things aren't what they seem. Yeah, that he looks the part.

Let's put it that way. You see him, you go, ooh, Captain Sully, reassuring. Speak to the, you know, the travelers and the people on the ship. it all comes crumbling down very quickly. All comes crumbling down. I mean, the show really is about, to some extent, facades. It's about this idea of what we put out,

not necessarily reflecting the truth of what's actually happening. The ship itself is just gold-gilded nonsense, but the actually, like, beating heart of the ship is not great. Like, it's when you actually see it, you're like, oh, that looks rough. And I think that that kind of represents infrastructure itself.

It represents sort of like this idea that like we're building walls and we're doing all these fancy things. But fundamentally, we're not dealing with what's at the core of the issues that we're needing to deal with as a society. Right. So it's, again, as only Armando can do, it's a reflection of all of that. So what is the Armando thing for people who don't know, they know it when they see it. Maybe they watch deep and they go, I know. what that is. And they're going to see, if you love Veep, you will love this show. Just based on the comedy and the pace of things. But I was telling you beforehand, there are a couple jokes in there that I can tell already are going to become running jokes. And every time I see it,

something that could be a throwaway one time, it gets funnier. And he's sort of like burrowing into some of these jokes. What is the Armando thing? So I think it's a couple things. I think for one thing, Armando like no other is a great chess player, and he plays a long game. This series begins Act 3 of the Titanic and then goes from bad to worse to unthinkable really quickly. And what happens is you're getting a feel for the breakdown of society,

but by the end of the season, you really start to understand exactly the card, the hand that he's playing. I think that the thing that makes his comedy so unique is the rhythm, The banter itself is very unique. The style is very unique. It's sort of like a kind of has a British quality to it, right?

The other thing is the truth in human relationships that he seems to tap into. We all know versions of these people, right? You know, so even though it's a show that takes place in space 40 years in the future, there's still a couple that are hanging on by a thread. Just thinking about them while you were talking. Yeah, because their marriage is in disarray. Those issues are still relevant 40 years from now, just as they were 40 years ago.

So he sort of finds and taps into this thing that speaks to all of us. On a greater level, he loves tackling big themes that I don't think others necessarily have the nerve to tackle or necessarily have the nuance to tackle. So while it feels like, oh, this is just a big space comedy, it's really not. It's a comedy set 40 years in the future in outer space meant to reflect us on earth in the present, meant to reflect our unease and our uncertainty with what we're dealing with, the rise of populism, this idea that things aren't going the way we want to and we can't control those things. And so we want to break free of that.

All of those things are threaded into this comedy called Avenue 5 that is an outer space adventure. Yeah. And that stuff I think sort of dawns on you as you watch because you're at the beginning you're caught in, oh, that was a hilarious joke. That character's great. Your hair is funny. And then you realize there's something else going on. We were talking earlier about the delay. There's a 20-second delay on the ship.

Back to Earth. Back to Earth. And without ruining anything, Part of the reason why they get into trouble is because my character is so arrogant that he thinks he can throw money at what is impossible to achieve based on the laws of physics. He cannot get rid of the delay,

but he's making them try to do that. Well, I think we see that playing out today in our political landscape. We see people trying to throw money and things at issues without actually dealing with the issue itself. And so even something like, that that on the surface just seems like a running gag has a much bigger purpose to it. Right. So in your career right now, when something like this comes at you or anything comes at you, how are you evaluating?

Is it as simple as, oh, Armando's doing another show? I want to be a part of that. I love Veep and Death of Stalin. I want to do that. How do you sort of analyze all the things that come your way? At this point, I'm blessed enough to have the opportunity to chase things based on the kinds of people that I really want to work with. You know, an opportunity came up to work with Kenneth Branagh, I jumped at it. An opportunity comes up to work with somebody like Armando,

you jump at it. You respond to great scripts, you respond to great filmmakers, and then you hope for the best. Expect the worst, but you hope for the best. And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You never know. But with Armando, you know that you're at least betting on someone who

has a potential for greatness. Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Josh Gad after the break. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. More now of my conversation with Josh Gad. So you're on a hell of a run right now. Am I? Frozen 2 did pretty well.

Again, no teleprompter. That's just a fact right there. That's just a fact. Just became the most successful animated movie in the hands. history of movies. The history of movies, yeah. Nudging past the first movie. Yeah. What is it like to be in the middle of that phenomenon? We talked about Book of Mormon, but this is something else entirely around the world.

What's it been like? It's been amazing on a number of levels, but on a personal level, it's amazing to share a movie fundamentally about the relationship between two sisters with my own two girls. Right? Like having Ava, my oldest born, three years before the first movie came out and old enough that that movie played a big role in her upbringing. And then during the course of the journey getting to Frozen 2, having her welcome home a new sister and the two and the two of them getting to share the experience of growing up together. and now having these iconic and wonderful and independent women leading such an amazing example for them, that's been the most personally rewarding aspect of it.

On a broader level, you know, the other night I went out to the theater and a 75-year-old man came up to me and started tearing up. And he said, you can't possibly know how much Olaf has meant to me. So, like, that is something that you can't qualify with words. It's something that it's, it's, I am so proud that I've left behind something that I think, hope, will live on long after I'm gone in the same way that my kids are watching a movie like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves that their great, great. grandparents saw when they were kids is pretty surreal. You know, and being a part of that tradition, that story tradition of these Disney classics

is a dream come true, especially because I grew up watching things like Aladdin, looking at Robin Williams and saying, I want to do that. Let me do that. So what's your assessment then of why it's become not just popular, but so meaningful to people? There are a lot of animated movies. A lot of them are really good. but this has some other layer that's touched people in a way that other movies don't. What is it about Frozen?

I think it's a number of things. I think this idea of sisterhood and that relationship between two siblings, that reflection of love not necessarily being that of a woman being saved by a man's true love kiss, but by the love that family can have for each other, was a universal thing. theme that nobody really tapped into in that way. I think Let It Go became an anthem for so many people for so many different reasons. The amount of times that people have come up to Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Bobby and Kristen, or any of us in the cast and have said, let it go saved my life is staggering. You know, people who thought about taking their own lives, listening to that song, finding meaning in it,

that allowed them to go on and allowed them to talk to somebody, that's a significance. And I think just universally there's this element of Frozen that's so relatable because you have so many of these characters that you can tap into, and specifically for me, the thing that I think Olaf has given so many of us is the ability to tap back into our innocence, our childhood, our naivete, dare I say, optimism itself. We live in a pretty cynical world.

The guy's got a pretty good outlook on life. I think that that's something we could all do more with. It's refreshing. No question. And then we haven't even mentioned the cut you get of all the merchandise, which is going to be the biggest highlight of the whole thing for you. The reason the movie's really worked

is the amount of money I've made off of all the plush toys is really... I think that that's why parents keep going back to it is they want to make sure that the GAD house holds has the finest linen sheets. They've got to keep that thread count high, don't you? We've got it. Egyptian thread.

I'm going to pay for itself, buddy. It's not going to pay for itself. Do your daughters, obviously, love the movie? How does that balance? Because I know my kids are completely unimpressed, but what I do. They love the movie.

My kids love a good Willie Guy's interview. Oh, do they? Big Sunday today fans? Yeah. Yeah. Stephanobelists, they can do with that. They really, but they love a good guy's interview.

But they have to love Frozen. They're girls of a certain age. So what do they think that their dad is OLA? They don't care. They don't care. For them, it's a bragging, right? For them, it's like, they have this thing that they're doing now where they want to tell everybody that I'm O-O-O-F, which is not an okay thing to do, especially at like an airport.

Can we tell that stranger just helped take our bag that you're O-O-O-F? Nope, we don't do that. That's not a thing we do. There was actually this great story where when we were in, I was shooting a movie in Toronto. And my daughters were playing with these two twin girls out on the playground. And one day, because they bragged about it, they go, our daddy is all off.

And the girls looked over at me and they said, oh, that's lovely. Our father is Roger Federer. And I was like, and match point, okay. And then I looked over at the girls and I'm like, you probably shouldn't tell that to strangers. But I definitely lost. Girls, we lost that round. Yeah, we definitely lost that round that match the whole game.

Do they do like the gear? Do they have Elsa and Anna backpacks in the whole thing? Kind of. I think that they're more into what I'm not a part of sadly. like they're, they love, love Moana. Love Moana. Okay, that makes sense. They love, right now, I'm actually trying to introduce them to a lot of this stuff I grew up with.

So right now they're really into Indiana Jones. Really? Really into Indiana Jones. They're really into Star Wars. Good. That's good parenting. It's good parenting right there. Goonies.

Yeah, whole whole. Back to the future. Yep. All of it. Have you done Back to the Future yet? Yep. The funniest thing about Back to the Future is the girls watch it and they're, laughing at all of the things

I would have thought would have gone over their head. Like they love the weirdness of the mom flirting with the son and they get all of it and they're like, this is so crazy. I'm like, yes, this is why this movie's so

brilliant. So they're going through like a journey now of daddy's cinema must. It's kind of nice when I show my, I go, I don't know, are they going to like this and we'll watch it and they're laughing it's from the 80s but they love it you know it's

teen wolf or something like that and they're like oh there's also like a lot of things in those movies that I forgot don't necessarily age well right? That's definitely true. There's some stuff in there that I'm like let's fast forward through that part did I laugh at that? They asked me the other day and it was a very valid question that I didn't know how to answer

we were watching Return of the Jedi and they were like why is Leah kind of naked and chained against Jabba the hut and I was like well what Why is it time for lunch? We should get going. Like, how do you answer that question? That's a hard one to answer.

It's a hard one to answer. That is a hard one to answer. Well, you're doing a good job. By avoiding that. That's really great father. Run away. Let's somebody else step in and answer the question. It's a good technique.

Yeah. Let's see. Well, girls, great question. Let's see what the internet has to say about that. Ask the internet is the worst. It's the worst possible. So where for you, we're talking about your kids. Yeah.

Where did the acting and the performance bug start for you as a kid growing up in Florida? Do you remember a moment where you were like, ooh, this is what I want to do? It's kind of the cliche answer, but divorce, right? Like, I didn't get divorce as a show. That would have been weird. But my parents got divorced when I was five years old. And I realized seeing how much sadness was in the house that I had this opportunity with this weapon called laughter. to break through and bring fleeting joy at least, right?

And so I realized early on that that was a superpower that I really wanted to tap into. I think, you know what's so funny. This is out of body. I sort of thought my entire life that I had this dream that I saw Yul Brenner on tour with the King and I when I was a kid, because it's like the first memory I have of theater. And I asked my mom this morning, Is it even possible that I saw Yule Brenner and the king and I?

And I've just never thought to ask her. And she goes, yes. We took Jason, my oldest brother, when he was for 16th birthday. So I was five when I saw it. So that would have been one of the first times I ever saw theater. So think about how that must have been. Sure. And then.

You confirmed that today? I confirmed it this morning randomly. Because I was talking to somebody who knows Yul Brenner's daughter the other day. And it came up. I was like, I think when I was a kid, I saw Yul Brenner because I have this vivid memory of him going, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And like, I can't, I don't know if I'm, like, manifesting that. And then my mom 100% confirmed that we saw him in Miami.

Why Yol Brunner was touring with the king and I in Miami in his 60s, I can't answer. But he was. Might I need some walking around. Yes. So I knew that I wanted to do it then. And then I went to pursue it. and I wanted to go straight to New York or Hollywood. And my parents said, get a diploma.

So they made me go to Carnegie Mellon Drama, where I had the most insane and talented class. I was in class with Leslie Odom, Jr., who would go on to win a Tony for Hamilton, with Katie Mixon, who now stars on our own sitcom on ABC, Rory O'Malley, my best friend. That's a famous class. Was in Book of Mormon with me,

and of course Josh Grobin, who quit our freshman year, left. And I called my parents and I said, my buddy Josh just left. He's going to go sing at the Grammys with Celine Dion. Why can't I leave? And they were like, because you're not Josh Grobin. You're Josh Cad. And as long as your last name is Gad and you need our financial support, you're going to stay in school.

And thank God they told me to do it. Yeah. So before you even got to Carnegie Melon, you were big. I want to just do a quick sip of vodka. Yeah, hit that vodka. It's good, right? Yeah. Nice finish.

Great finish. You can taste the metallic nature of the pipes that this vodka went through. The lead. It's all there. It's fantastic. But you were big, and I didn't know this about you, into the oratory competitions. Yeah. Speech and debate.

And, like, you were dominant at it, like, national champion level. Yeah. How do you reach that level? How does that become a passion for you? Um, you know, it was one of those things where I realized pretty quickly that I was never going to be an athlete. Um, I did, however, have a competitive desire. Like, I had that like sense that I wanted to compete in something, but it wasn't going to be in sports. So what could it be? And forensics, not the kind where you dissect a body and look for criminal activity, but the kind where it's speech and debate oriented was something. that presented itself when I was about in seventh grade. We had a great coach named Brent Pissola,

and he gave me that, like, bug. So I started doing interpretation, which is, like, dramatic and humorous interpretation and duo, and then original oratory where you write your own speech, and then I went on to win a national championship three times, which is so funny because... Three times. Three times.

Which I think is still the record. I'm very proud of that. That's crazy. But I still get stopped on the street, I'll be like, oh, they're going to recognize me from this or this. And they go, I've seen your speech and debate video. I learned off that speech. Really?

Yeah. It's on YouTube. It's on YouTube. And I guess kids now watch some of those videos and learn how to do that. So, like, what's an example of a debate? Like, what would you debate on the national championship level? What does that look like? Well, I wasn't debating necessarily.

I was doing oratory. So it's a 10-minute speech on a topic. Ted talk. there's something in this water. It was like a TED talk kind of thing. So one year I did it on taking risks. Another year I did a speech about the positive effects of humor and laughter in our lives. So it was like a 10-minute speech that basically breaks that down from thesis to conclusion.

But I never got it on the stage and debated somebody. But I have to imagine that's great for your confidence, too, and leads you to perform on stage on Broadway. Broadway. I did that and I wanted and I was like, one day I'm going to do an interview with Willie Geist. It all led to this day. And it all led to this. Yeah. It all led to this. This is the mountaintop. Yes. Where I apparently die of a cough in. I'll let you process your, your lead for a second. There we go. Good? Yeah. It's the dust particulates from their sweater. Is that what it is? Is that what it is? Right down my pipe. Up on the shelf for a couple of years. Stick around to hear more from Josh Gad on the Sunday

Sit Down podcast, including the Broadway audition that changed his life. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Now more of my conversation with Josh Gadd. So I think most people would point to Book of Mormon as your big breakout. But you did a lot of work before that. I did. And film. So what felt to you like the movie or TV show or project that was like, okay, I can make it doing this? I'm a professional actor and this is who I'm going to be. So three years out of college, I called up my mother and I said, I'm going to go law school. Both my brothers are lawyers. And I had met my then-girlfriend, soon-to-be wife.

And I was like, I just want to be responsible. I don't want to, like, just chase these dreams anymore. And my mom started crying. I'm like, why is my Jewish mother crying? I would think that this would be like a dream come true. I'm going to go to law school and finally get it together. She goes, I'm so disappointed in you. I said, you're disappointed?

She goes, yeah, you've spent 15 years dreaming, but only three years trying to live out that dream. And now you're just giving it up. And I was like, oh, wow. So there was a show not too far from here on Broadway called the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Me. And a friend of mine, multiple friends of mine, had seen it and said, if this guy who won the Tony, Dan Fogler, brilliant performer, ever leaves,

you're the only person to take over this role. I was like, great. So he leaves. I have nothing on my resume that suggests I could possibly go on Broadway and take over for a Tony winner. But because of the confidence my mom gave me, I was like, what have I got to lose? So I came, I auditioned, I went up against somebody who had a bunch of Broadway credits. I thought my audition was a disaster. Really?

Was convinced it was horrible. What happened? Our director, the brilliant James Lepine, who of course is renowned for writing many, a masterful play, including what's called? Sondheim, Into the Woods. There we go. He pulls me... I went on staff, never told this story.

I actually get flushed when I tell the story, but what have I got to lose? There's only millions of people are going to watch it. So I do my audition. I come out, I crack a joke, and there's about like 20 people sitting there.

I get about three minutes into my audition. James says, Josh, can I please see you for a second? I go, okay. So I walk up to the top of the seats, and he looks at me and he goes, I don't think you really take this seriously. And I said, well, what do you mean? And he goes, well, you're coming out and you're cracking jokes.

And I said, well, to be fair, 20 people are about to decide whether or not I'm going to get the biggest job of my life. And I figured I had one of two choices I could either break the ice or I could projectile vomit all over you and your colleagues. And he started to question whether or not I had the commitment, the work ethic, et cetera, et cetera. And I looked at him and I said, look, you can question a lot of things about me. But I just went through four years of conservatory training to be an actor. I love what I do. If it's not this, it's going to be something else.

but please don't question my work ethic. And I walk out and I look at the guy who went before me and I go, congratulations, you got the job. Walk out, go back to my hotel, start crying. I'm like, screw this, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I got a call for my agent. And she goes, so James has left two tickets for you to see Spelling Me, which I hadn't seen because I couldn't afford a ticket.

And I go, why on earth would I want to go see Spelling Bee? She goes, because he figures you should probably see it before you take over in two weeks. Come on. And that was it. And I think he was testing me. And I respect that now because I was like, it felt traumatic. But like, he wanted to see if I had the nerve to take on this thing, which was replacing this guy who was about to be a breakout star. And I really, really look back on that, and I feel like that was the moment when it got easier,

when I actually felt like, okay, this could work. I could make a living as an actor. And you can trace it back to your mom, because she could have said, law school is great. We support you. Yep. Good luck. It's about time. I've been waiting for this call.

I knew you'd be a failure. Thank God you're getting to your senses. Time to open those law books. I don't know how you handled that phone call of thinking you're crying in your hotel room. It's over. I've totally blown my Broadway break to start in two weeks. Like, how do you even process that phone call? Oh, well, then I started going through, oh my God, what if I am a fraud? What if I don't have what it takes? Then I started to go through all that and had like an anxiety attack about that. Amazing. Amazing.

Before I let you go, I've saved this to the end of the interview. Yeah. I'd love it if you pulled out a knife now. Talk openly about the starring role that I had in 1600 Penn. That's right. Oh, my God. I had a... That's when the show's ratings went downhill.

That's when we lost our audience. Some critics say that was the moment at all. That was the moment. Do you remember? That was it. That was a funny show. I'm going to put that out there. And you were spectacular.

You were spectacular. I do. You did it. Chuck Todd did it. Yeah. It was a who's who of NBC employees. We were on the screen, I think, in the Oval Office. And you guys were watching the developments in the news with the president.

Do you remember who wrote that show? Love it. John Love it. Yeah. Now Pod Save America. The great John Lovett. The great. Not John Lovitz from Saturday Night Live.

Different. Different John. Different John Lovett. You were terrific. I'm sorry the show didn't work out for the two of us. Me too, but that was a funny show today. It was.

I enjoyed it. Sometimes timing isn't right or whatever. And what was the criticism of the show was there would never be a buffoon like this in the White House. Just you wait. And on that Alexander Hamilton note. Amazing. Thank you, my friend.

See you tied it together? Yeah. Back to that. Incredible. Thanks, Ben. That was great. Thank you. I appreciate it.

My big thanks. to a truly great guy, Josh Gadd for that conversation. You can catch his new show Avenue 5 every Sunday at 10 p.m. on HBO. And I'm joined now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast by the producer of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Maggie Law. Hey, Mag. Hi, Willie. So I should do some explaining about 1600. Yes.

What happened there? I realized I didn't really explain what that was. So it was a short-lived NBC series. I want to say it was eight or nine years ago. Okay. Josh was the star. He played the son of the first. of the president of the United States.

So they lived at 1600. Figured it was a presidential comedy. Yeah. And he was sort of the buffoonish son in like the Chris Farley Tommy Boy spirit. And there was one episode where they needed news coverage of something. So Joe Mika and I, for Morning Joe, recorded a scripted bit. Love it. And they all sat in the Oval Office and watched it around the TV.

Ah, there you go. A short time later after I think 13 or 14 episodes, the show, let's say politely. went away. And so I just wanted to know how much Josh blamed me for the demise of 1600. The curse on the show was possibly the Morning Joe. And by the way, the John Lovett that he mentioned in our interview was a speech writer for President Obama. Right. And then created that show, 1600 Penn. Very cool. So I like to explain everything after it's already been discussed. There you go. I hope that clarifies everything. No, that's super helpful. So I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love me some Josh Gad. Great dude. Such a funny guy. And his show is so funny. I know you watched an episode. I watched a couple episodes. He talked about Armando Ayanucci, who also created Veep, created this show.

And I feel like watching that. If you love Veep, you're going to love Avenue 5. And I do love Veep. And, yeah, I mean, I love that, like, quick witty banter. I mean, it's got the whole, and it's not an outer space. Like, the concept sounds, especially when I first listened to this conversation, it didn't sound as, like, funny as it is. And then you watch it and his Herman Judd character. I mean, the whole thing.

is just hilarious. And yeah, I mean, it's perfect. He is such a delightful jackass on the show. And I say that as a great compliment. It was fun to talk to him about Frozen, too, because, you know, he was a respected and funny and relatively well-known actor, but that just changed everything. And he joked about all the merchandise money. He's like, keep buying those backpacks, little boys and girls. But who could have known it was going to be that big, to be the two highest-grossing.

animated movies of all time. That's kind of crazy. I know. And I loved what he said about his daughters too. He's like, I mean, they think it's cool. I was in it, but it's really bragging rights. Like the show around saying, oh, can I tell that person at the airport that my dad is all right. Yeah. And he's like, no, don't tell the baggage. We're not allowed to do that. But you know, he embraces it and he's smart too. I remember when the first Frozen came out and I was hosting the Today Show. And he just, and my daughter was like six or something like that. And my kids really into it. And he just took my phone and voiced a message to them as Olaf. Clearly he was used to that

request. He's like, yeah, I'll do it. Come on. But he's like, he's not like, oh yeah, it's been crazy. He's like, no, it's the greatest thing that's ever happened. I feel like if you're part of a children's film like that, and especially one that's had such an effect on people and it's turned into a musical and it's got the second one now. You sort have to like be into it. I mean, when you're going to read

Kristen Bell, it's the same thing. They know. And they, you know, she's like, this has changed people's lives and people come up to us and they say how meaningful it's been. So they know, and I feel like he, you know, he goes along with which is great. And then I have to say it was cool just to be in Barcentral. I've heard the legend of that place.

Yes. I was going to say, I feel like you've almost done several of these there. I remember a few years ago, but to finally, like, get into the room, right? It must have been pretty cool. I mean, you can't just walk up and be like, hi, we'd lay a seat for two. And they'd be like, which Broadway phenomenon are you starring? Are you starring in? The answer, unfortunately, for me, is none.

But I loved how he ended the interview saying the reason he wants to come back to Broadway is to get back into Barststall. To get a table at Barcentral. Makes sense. And I cannot blame him. It was a great conversation. My thanks again to Josh, Maggie. Thank you.

And thank all of you, as always, for tuning again this week. If you want to hear more of the full-length conversations with my guests every single week, be sure to click subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Sunday Sit-down podcast. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC, where you can see the full televised version of these interviews. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit-Down. podcast.