Josh Gad has played several memorable characters in his career but it seems more than likely that he will forever mostly be known as the voice of the lovable snowman Olaf in Disney’s Frozen movies. Taking the job in one of the best animated Disney movies was clearly one of the great moves of the actor’s career, but he calls one decision he made with Olaf a “big mistake.”
A TikTok of Josh Gad at a recent Fan Expo event is currently going viral where the actor reveals that he now wishes he hadn’t given Olaf his voice. That’s not to say that he wishes he had turned down the role. Instead, Gad means he wishes he created a different voice for Olaf because the fact that the snowman just sounds like his normal voice means that everybody recognizes him wherever he goes. He said…
If I could do it all over again, I would not have lent that snowman my voice. I would have created a different voice because it’s very weird being in a supermarket and having a little child go like this [turns head in shock]. So, that was my first big mistake.
There are certainly upsides to being a celebrity. Josh Gad gets the VIP treatment at Disneyland and being recognized probably feels really good a lot of the time. Of course, sometimes you just want to go grocery shopping and not have to talk to every small child you meet. Not all celebrities love being recognized all the time. Many actors go out in disguise to prevent being noticed. That's not necessarily too hard when you're trying to hide your famous face, but if you have a distinctive voice, as Josh Gad certainly does, that's much harder to hide.
If Gad had created a different voice for Olaf then he could use his own voice and not be recognized for it. Certainly, Josh Gad has done his share of live-action movies and would still be recognized now and then, but likely not nearly as often as he apparently is now. Ultimately the actor says he used his own voice because people tell him it's distinctive and so he wanted to use it because people seem to like it. Check out his full comments below.
@fanexpohq ♬ original sound - FAN EXPO
Unfortunately, Josh Gad will just have to get used to kids recognizing his voice, because Olaf isn’t going anywhere. Frozen 3 is set for release in 2027 and we know a fourth Frozen film is also in development. This means that entirely new Frozen fans will continue to be made over the next several years. Combined with Gad’s voice appearing in Disney theme parks and various other places where Olaf is needed, he’ll need to get used to getting shocked looks from kids all over the world.
