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Can you imagine the emotional rollercoaster of being the child of a character actor like Josh Gad? Sometimes he’s an animated singing snowman named Olaf, another time he’s Gaston’s sidekick LeFou in Beauty and the Beast, and then later down the line, he becomes a bearded dwarf named Mulch Diggums. It’s a lot for a kid to process, as Gad has recently described about his Artemis Fowl role. In his words:
At first I tried to convince them that daddy really did completely change his look and that this was my new face. They were like, ‘Really? But we want to see your face dada.’ I’d be like, ‘Alright.’
Josh Gad admits he played with his two daughters, Ava and Isabella Gad, aged nine and six, at first, telling them he was going to permanently go for the full beard. They were vocally opposed to the idea… and if they could see how Mulch looks when he stretches his mouth and burrow through dirt in the new Disney+ flick, they’d see how great their instincts are. Take a look:
Maybe this is one family flick the Frozen dad should leave out. Mulch is definitely the actor’s most unrecognizable role yet, as he dons not only the beard, but has dirt around his face and a notably deeper voice. His character narrates the film about a young genius named Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) as he hunts down a secret realm of fairies in search for his father (Colin Farrell).
Josh Gad’s Mulch makeup took two hours to attach each day on set, but it almost looked a lot creepier when the makeup artists were first testing out looks for the character. Check this out:
Whoa! Artemis Fowl is Josh Gad’s second collaboration with Sir Kenneth Branagh following his role in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, as well as part of a string of supporting roles he’s taken on for Disney. However, Mulch is more rough around the edges than Olaf or LeFou, and deals with 100 percent more dirt burrowing.
Artemis Fowl was initially set for a theatrical release, but the studio decided to drop it exclusively to Disney+ members due to global health concerns. The movie’s release was met with negative reviews from critics and audiences. It has a 10% Tomatometer score and 21% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell gave the film two stars, calling it a “surprising misfire” from the director of 2011’s Thor.
Artemis Fowl is available to check out on Disney+ along with an extensive library of Disney films. Coming up next month is the Hamilton movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story and these other July titles.
