Josh Gad, who released his memoir “In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some” on Jan. 14, says his “Love & Other Drugs” co-star Jake Gyllenhaal warned him not to pursue a role in “The Book of Mormon,” the raunchy musical-comedy from “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
“While bouncing back and forth to do episodes of ‘The Daily Show,’ I was also filming a movie called ‘Love & Other Drugs,’ directed by Ed Zwick and starring Jake Gyllenhaal,” Gad wrote. “One day as Jake and I were driving home from set in Pittsburgh, I asked him if I could play a demo of a new musical that I had recently done a workshop for in New York, hoping to get his advice as to whether or not I should pursue it further. He said, ‘Yeah, pop it on,’ and I played the opening number.”
Though Gyllenhaal “laughed his ass off” at the musical’s squeaky-clean, tongue-in-cheek opening number “Hello!,” things quickly took a turn as the tracks continued. “I skipped to another track on the album and his face slowly went from joyful enthusiasm to abject fear and terror,” Gad recalls.
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“He stopped the car and said, ‘Dude, you cannot do whatever this is. This will be way too controversial. Who the hell wrote this anyway?’ I paused the music and looked over at him. ‘The ‘South Park’ guys.’”
But while Gyllenhaal may not have been a fan of “Book of Mormon,” Gad would go on to join the production regardless, enjoying a 15-month stint in the role of Elder Cunningham on Broadway and nabbing a Tony nomination for best actor for his efforts.