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Josh GadHis career is full of ups and downs—plus plenty of special moments with A-list stars, at least according to his memoirs. In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some.
“It kind of became the theme of the book,” Gad, 43, said My Weekly exclusively when promoting the bookwhich was released on Tuesday, January 14. “In the face of adversity, how do you overcome obstacles to achieve dreams bigger than you set out for yourself? That was the story of my life.”
Gad explained that he had “stumbles” during his rise to fame, which acted as “learning curves” throughout his career.
“I love failure because it gives me a platform to succeed,” he said. “Don’t let others make you give up on yourself. I think persistence is just as important as skill. Those two things together can be a very powerful potion.”
Celebs including Jake Gyllenhaal, Brad Pitt and more are just like Me – and other famous stars – when meeting their idols. Gyllenhaal recalled how impressed he was when he met Pitt on the set of The Good Girl in the early 2000s. “I worked with Jennifer Aniston, who was his wife in (…)
Gad continued: “I didn’t love it at the time, I definitely hated it – but the rejection was and still is as important to me as the acceptance. Part of that is, ‘F— me? F— you. I’ll prove you wrong.”
Part inspirational success story and part reflection on his upbringing (Gad grew up with a single mother and an absent father), his book offered moments of levity with a few notable name drops.
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of celebrity encounters from Gad’s memoir:
Sharing a class with the stars
Gad went to high school in Florida where the early days of his acting career began. He wrote that Scott Weinger (Steve on Full house or the voice of Aladdin, depending on which generation you grew up in) was one of his “school heroes”.
When Gad went to Carnegie Mellon University, the actor found himself sharing the halls with other industry giants, including “a young Nebb boy from Southern California with a very rich singing name Josh Grobana wildly talented and wildly confident kid from Philly named Leslie Odom Jr.and his name was a fair-skinned Irish boy from Cleveland Rory O’Malley.” Gad noticed this too Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello they were his “big brothers” at school.
Longevity Besties
Gad made friends Seth Gabel from childhood. Gabel, as some may know, he went to get married Bryce Dallas Howard. Although Gad “hated” Howard when he first met her, they became “friends for life” after one night of him wearing her “pink fluffy robe” all over New York.
Couch-Surfing roommates
Early in his career, Gad crashed on Gabel and Howard’s couch in Los Angeles. He wrote that two others also couch surfed: Katherine Waterston and Jeremy Strongwhom Gad referred to as “an interesting recent Yale drama graduate who worked as an apprentice Daniel Day-Lewis.”
An unforgettable encounter with a legend
Those same early years in Los Angeles brought “an exciting or exciting moment” — one of them included Robert Downey Jr.
Gad wrote that he spotted the actor during a trip to The Coffee Bean in 2003. The pair discussed Downey’s role in the film Chaplin.
See photos of famous pals — including Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake, Connie Britton and Lauren Graham — who were once roommates before making it big in Hollywood.
“I took a deep breath, tapped him on the shoulder, introduced myself, and for the next five minutes we shared a beautiful and inspiring conversation about our admiration for one of the world’s greatest comedians,” Gad recalled, adding that he “felt so moved” by the interaction.
“As we approached the cash register, (Downey) suddenly turned to me and said, ‘Hey, I forgot my wallet. Would you mind covering it up?’” Gad wrote.
Whose house is this?
Gad wrote about meeting his friend at her friend’s house without knowing who owned the house.
“I rang the bell and a few seconds later my friend opened the door, dressed in a bathrobe. Before I could ask why she was in a robe, her boyfriend, the owner of this monstrous house, walked by her in a matching robe,” he wrote. “It was.” Jeff Goldblum.”
The trio “talked” until Goldblum began practicing Meisner Method acting exercises on Gad. “Why I played it with Jeff Goldblum in a robe at his house on Mount Olympus on a little uncomfortable pillow, I had and still have no idea,” Gad said.
Tax Advice from Kelsey Grammer
Gad worked with Grammer on the 2007 series Back to you and Frasier star once discussed the importance of being a “fiscal conservative” while they were on set.
“Emmy-winning actor Kelsey Grammer shared the benefits of paying lower taxes and encouraged me to join the cause (which, for the record, if I hadn’t been raised in a very liberal household, I probably would have run with , the money is really nice to keep once you earn them),” Gad wrote, sharing that they’ve remained “incredibly close” over the years.
‘The artist formerly known as’ Kevin Spacey
Gad appeared alongside Spacey in the 2008 film 21. During the filming of the movie, Spacey took Gad out to dinner and “forced” him to “fall out”. In the memoir’s sidebar, Gad explained that this was years before Spacey’s legal troubles. (The disgraced actor faced multiple allegations of sexual assault since 2017, which he denies. He was acquitted of nine charges in July 2023.)
“It was such a strange thing,” Gad said Our about working with Spacey. “But it also felt like a sign of respect where he was really tickled, I think, by the fact that I could do voices.
Harrison Ford says no
Despite working on the 2008 film Crossing Over with Ford, the Hollywood legend would not be photographed with Gad years later.
“I was dating a young man Hailee Steinfeldwhich my agent also represented when she approached him and took a selfie. After Hailee took a picture, I asked Harrison if we could take a picture together too,” Gad wrote. “Harrison looked at me and said with that iconic grumpy growl, ‘No.’
How Jake Gyllenhaal Is Connected to ‘The Book of Mormon’
Gad played Gyllenhaal’s boyfriend in the 2010 film Love and other drugs. As they drove home from the set, Gad played the Broadway soundtrack.
“I played the opening number. Jake laughed,” Gad wrote. “I skipped to the next track on the album and his face slowly went from joyous excitement to utter fear and terror.
Hello, my name is Elder Price
Before Andrew Rannells was cast alongside Gad The Book of Mormonstars like Cheyenne Jackson, TR knight and Nick Lachey auditioned for the role.
A meaningful friendship
Gad s Robin Williams (one of his longtime heroes) behind the scenes in The Book of Mormon and began a friendship that lasted until the death of the comedian in 2014.
“It’s so frustrating because you imagine someone is going to be here forever.” There was so much I planned to talk to him about. We talked less and less. I saw him I think a year before he died,” Gad said Our. “I could tell he was down. It wasn’t his living 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 had the opportunity to hear me talk about how he inspired me – it’s something I told him personally.”
A-List fans
Throughout the book, Gad mentioned some of the stars who turned out to be fans. Henry Winkler saw the actor in 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee while on Broadway Philip Seymour Hoffman went to The Book of Mormon. More stars – Sacha Baron Cohen, Adam Sandler and Melissa McCarthy – they asked Gad to do the voice of Olaf Frozen at parties over the years.
Johnny Depp, a huge YouTuber
Gad appeared alongside Depp in the 2017 film Murder on the Orient Express. Both actors often “watched TV” on set in Depp’s trailer, which meant “old YouTube videos” like “Charlie Bit My Finger”.
According to Gad’s book, these clips “burned out Johnny’s mind”. During the interview with OurGad said, “It was so wild” to have the experience, which he noted was the “last thing” anyone would expect to do with Depp.
“It was an out-of-body experience just sitting on the couch and going, ‘Oh yeah, I remember seeing these videos on YouTube 10 years ago.’ But I loved the novelty of them for him,” Gad shared Our. “Watching them see these things through a child’s eyes was fascinating and amazing and just amazing.”
His last text with Chadwick Boseman
The late Boseman appeared alongside Gad in the 2017 film Marshall.
“The production, which was filmed in Buffalo, got off to a somewhat choppy start as Chad had something wrong with his stomach that he was receiving treatment for in LA,” Gad wrote. “It wasn’t until almost three years later that I realized the medical problem was actually colon cancer and that somehow Chad was filming our movie in the early stages of the disease that eventually took his life.”
Gad shared his last text exchange with Boseman from June 2020. “Love you too bro Gad,” the actor wrote. Boseman died two months later.
