Josh Gad on the Audition that Changed His Life

Josh Gad almost gave up on his acting dreams when The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway invited him to audition in 2005. In an interview with Off Camera, the 39-year-old actor recalls the memorable audition and the role that served as his big break into the business.

 

Gad is most famous for portraying the lovable voice of the happy snowman Olaf in Disney’s Frozen. He also received a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon.

 

Early Life

 

Josh always loved to sing, make people laugh, and pretend to be other people. “I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and there was no discouraging me from doing that thing,” he remembers. Originally, the Florida native wanted to perform on Broadway, but as he grew older, he found a new goal: to become a cast member of Saturday Night Live. So for three years, he sent audition tapes to SNL with high hopes only to receive respectful letters of rejection. “But when I let go of ‘That’s got to be my destiny, that’s it or it’s nothing,’ things started to happen,” Josh recounts.

 

From Dreams to Reality

 

Just as the Carnegie Mellon University graduate seriously contemplated giving up his acting dreams, a San Francisco tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee invited him to audition for a musical. Josh admitted in a Brains of Minerva interview, “I have no work, and yet I said no. It was ballsy, it was egotistical, it was egomaniacal, and stupid probably.”

Soon thereafter, Gad received wind from a friend that the Spelling Bee producers were now very interested in casting him as a replacement for the Broadway original cast member, Don Fogler who would go on to win the 2005 Tony Award for his performance in the role. However, they were still miffed Josh passed on their previous San Francisco offer. This revelation woke the young actor up, so to speak, and so he had his manager reach out to the production, urging them to give Josh a second chance.

Gad describes how the audition went that fateful day: “I show up and there’s one other guy. His credits are all Broadway, and I have no credits.” 

Josh’s competition was doing quite well based on the laughter emanating from the room and the audition running long. “So he comes out and he’s looking confident,” Josh recalls. 

 

Taking Things Seriously

 

Hoping to calm his nerves, Gad cracked a joke in front of the intimidatingly large group of producers before starting his audition. But the director halted the performance just minutes in, and like a school principal, asked to have a moment with Josh. Gad recalls:

“He says, ‘I don’t think you take this seriously.’ 

I go, ‘Excuse me?’ 

He goes, ‘I don’t think you actually really take this seriously.’ 

‘Why are you saying that?’ He goes, ‘Because you come out here, you’re telling a joke.’ 

And I go, ‘Please forgive me. Fifteen people are about to make the most important decision of my life. I’m walking out more nervous than I’ve ever been in my entire life. I figure I have two choices: I can either break the ice, make a joke or I can projectile vomit all over you and your colleagues. So forgive me if I chose the former. You know, you can question anything you want about me, but I will not let you question my work ethic. I have done nothing but devote myself to my craft for four years. I’ve done nothing but fight to be here. If I don’t get this role on my merits, fine. But I love what I do, and I take it very seriously.” 

Watch the clip to hear the zinger at the end. 

It is easy to think you can accurately assess how your audition is being received by casting professionals. However, Josh’s story serves as a reminder that you really just never know what they are searching for or why.

 

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3 Tips for Commercial Auditions

I have been doing commercials for 40 years, and hate to sound like one of those veterans who starts every sentence with..”back in the day”…

But, back in the day…. when you went to a commercial audition, they would always have a rehearsal with you before you taped. You would get at least one out before they would record to send it off to the powers that be. You could relax and know that any kinks could be worked out with the help of the session director before you recorded one for the director.

Now, rarely is there time to do a rehearsal before taping. Session directors are backed up, the sessions are tighter and thus less time to spend with the actors.

Often they will have a group explanation which is very helpful but the actor does not have the chance to actually say the words and do the activities themselves before taping.

1. So MAKE SURE you are prepared for the first take.

Say it out loud prior to going in. Find a corner off to the side away from everyone so you can actually say it. Go outside and do one full volume so you can hear what it sounds like. Make solid choices. Specificity is key. I always say make sure you do your second take first. In other words be savvy and solid on take 1 so you can get great direction to do an even better take two.

2. Dress the part.

Even nice casual or at home casual should be given some thought. This requires that you watch TV commercials and know what the uniform is for your type and be sure to have those uniforms in your closet. Ideally you have seen your outfits on camera as well and can verify that they look good on camera and give the right first impression for you in your marketable roles. Back in the day… when I had 3-5 auditions a day, I would bring each outfit for each audition, specific to the spot or role and change in the car if necessary. Now I don’t recommend changing in the car, but go in the bathroom and change your clothes and feel like the character you are auditioning for.

This always helps me, but most important, it helps the director, client and agency see you as the role. Eliminate any or all reasons for them to go to the next actor when you are the perfect choice in every way.

3. Button! Buttons book jobs!

In this day and age when improv is the name of the game, you have to be ready to add a little something to the spot to keep your life going and to show your unique personality through the character. Buttons have booked many a job subliminally. The client, director and agency hear it and think it is great, funny, amusing, and instantly like you. They may even add the button in to the script. And it is a way to stand out in a good way. It shows you are a smart thinking actor who is ready and willing and able to breathe fresh life into the scene.

Now that you know to prepare, dress the part and use buttons, it’s time to go out and book those jobs!

Judy Kain is an author, actress, acting teacher and podcaster in Los Angeles, California. She has booked over 400 commercial roles and over 100 film and television roles. Judy is the owner of Keep It Real Acting Studios where she offers commercial, theatrical and business classes for actors of all ages and levels.

Actors need to come up with a plan for their social media marketing and networking. If you have one, we’re going to test it out right here. And if you don’t, well, let’s enter the 21st century already One thing that the majority of working actors has in common is that they are all social media savvy. They Tweet, they share, and they post. If you want to become a working actor, isn’t it obvious that you need to replicate as many of their habits as you can?

I have been doing commercials for 40 years, and hate to sound like one of those veterans who starts every sentence with..”back in the day”…

But, back in the day…. when you went to a commercial audition, they would always have a rehearsal with you before you taped. You would get at least one out before they would record to send it off to the powers that be. You could relax and know that any kinks could be worked out with the help of the session

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Judy Kain is an actress known for The Odd Couple. Hand Of God and Mad Men. She is the owner of Keep It Real Acting Studios, where she teaches A-Z Commercial Technique, Intermediate Commercial Intensive, and Advanced Callback Class.

Want to get your acting career started? Sign up or login to Casting Frontier and start auditioning today!

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Availability & The Working Actor

Are you available? Wait. Before you answer, you might want to read the entire blog.

Every actor I meet tells me they are 100% available to audition and to work. But then when some of them get the call, they are either not available at all or need a reschedule. Sometimes this is possible but most of the time the casting director needs you when he or she makes the request. A lot of parts are cast in one session. And why look at tape when I have a dozen amazing choices standing right in front of me in the flesh? We can adjust them. We can pair them up. We can even mix and match. Most importantly, we can chat a little and get to know you for thirty seconds. Thirty very important seconds.

You’re not available for my projects unless you live here. Here’s why.

I used to travel to Scottsdale, Arizona regularly to conduct classes and seminars. Each time I stood in front of the class they almost unanimously stated that they could be as easy to hire as actors from Los Angeles. That was a pretty unrealistic promise but since some of them worked for airlines I gave it a shot. Some of them actually showed up on time and were very professional. The trouble popped up when I needed them to come out two days later for the callback or two weeks later to read for another role in a different episode of my TV series. That first trip out was the charm but the L.A. actor shows up over and over without difficulty.

And then there is the issue of the holidays.

The problem of availability just came up on a feature I was producing last December. I needed to hire a couple of actors at the last minute. They wouldn’t need to audition. They just had to show up. Shouldn’t be a problem, right? But I was looking on December 18^th for them to work on December 21^st. I reached out to several actors and no one was available. They were either already out of town or would be by the work date. Of course I found my actors eventually, but I thought it was a shame that some actors missed out on a paying role in a union feature because they chose not to be available in December.

When producers or casting directors need you to show up on the set, the only response should be “where and when?” The actors I reach out to are the ones that have proven to be on call year-round. I’m not mad at the other actors, but I can’t hire them.

You are NOT available if you are in a play without understudies. I cannot hire you and guarantee a stop time. Why would I? I have thousands of actors who are available 24/7. Whether it’s a studio film, a network series or a tiny indie, you must be available or you are wasting our time coming in. This happens way too often and it damages relationships between actors and casting directors as well as those between casting directors and agents.

You are not available if you can’t be in my office in an hour. Many of you have jobs that aren’t as conducive to auditions as you want to believe. You have to rush to every audition. You are not at your best when you are there and you then rush back to work. If this is you, you need to find a new job asap or you made the trip out here for nothing.

You’re not available unless you bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles. You cannot move home, move back to L.A., move back home and repeat the cycle over and over expecting this to work for an acting career. The majority of actors who leave L.A. do not return. The one thing they all have in common is that they are not working actors in film and television today. Move here. Stay here.

Don’t say you are available unless you are available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. As I learn every time I cast a project, there are actors out there who just don’t seem to know their own availability.

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Mark Sikes began his casting career in 1992 for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Corman. In the past 24 years, he has cast over 100 films as well as television series, commercials and web series. He has cast projects for top directors such as Tobe Hooper, Mark Jones and Luke Greenfield and many others. Domestically, he as cast films in Los Angeles as well as in Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia and multiple projects in Colorado.

Want to get your acting career started? Sign up or login to Casting Frontier and start auditioning today!

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Brilliant or Ridiculous Auditioning Advice?

If you recognize this actor, but can’t think of his name, it’s probably because he’s often cast in small roles in high-profile films and TV shows. Glenn Morshower is best known for playing Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce in the award-winning Fox serial drama 24. But he often portrays law enforcement characters, military personnel, and government agents; thus, you might recognize him as Colonel Hendry from X-Men: First Class, or Transformers: Dark of the Moon‘s General Morshower, or CSI: Crime Scene Investigation‘s Sheriff Brian Mobley.

With decades of steady work under his belt, Glenn shares a unique nugget of wisdom that could be considered brilliant or ridiculous. He says, “I ask actors, ‘How many of you have ever had the experience of the finest version of the audition be the one that takes place in the car on the way home–after the audition?’ And they always raise their hands.”

In an effort to help actors relax in the audition room, Morshower shares “a harmless secret” that he insists he’s been doing for years to help him effectively stay loose and calm while in tense auditioning circumstances or important meetings: He puts items like bologna or breakfast cereal in his underwear. Giving a thumbs up, Glenn says he discovered that”Food in my undershorts was the secret to success. Now here’s the point: I’m not joking.” Morshower says it’s hard to let your nerves mess up a meeting when you’ve got food items in your undergarments because when you’re in that high-pressure situation, “you don’t care.”

Morshower is used to giving life advice. He wrote and performs in a series of performances called The Extra Mile which are a combination of motivational speaking and dramatic and comedic storytelling. He seeks to help audiences “discover clarity, a passion, and an indefatigable commitment to the deepest yearnings of the soul.”

So what do you think? Is this brilliant or ridiculous relaxation technique for auditions and high-powered meetings?

Want to get your acting career started? Sign up or login to Casting Frontier and start auditioning today!

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