Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Josh Gadis opening up more about the touching moment his olderdaughter cried over having to grow up, and how it inspired his character Olaf’s journey inFrozen 2.
In a conversation with E! on the red carpet at the2020 Oscarson Sunday, Gad said his now-9-year-old daughterAva Tanya“had a bit of a coming-of-age incident when she was about 5 years old and we happened to catch it on tape.”
“She started bawling when she was having dinner with us one day and she realized, in that moment, that she was gonna grow up one day,” added the actor and singer, 38.
“She said, ‘What if I don’t want to grow up?’ and she started crying and it was so heartbreaking, and that sort of inspired the seed that became Olaf’s trajectory in the sequel,” shared Gad, whose film’shit tune “Into the Unknown”is up for the Original Song award.
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Gad shared the clip to his Instagram feed last month, which showed little Ava sobbing when she fully realized she wouldn’t be a child forever. Her nanny Sara could be heard soothing her from behind the camera, saying, “You’re gonna be a kid for so long! You gotlots and lots of time to be a kid. … You’re only 5!”
TheAvenue 5actor gave a little backgroundon the video in his caption, writing, “Four years ago, during dinner one night our beautiful little girl had a huge epiphany that shook her to her core … we all have to grow up. This heartbreaking moment is something I never shared publicly before because it was so personal.”
The father of two went on to recall that he shared the clip with “our brilliantFrozen 2team at the time and said, I believe this should be Olaf’s journey inFrozen 2.”
And Gad’s request was granted. In the movie, the snowman he helped make famous with his exuberant voice portrayal grapples with unavoidable change and the idea of growing up. His hilarious solo song, “When I Am Older,” even addresses this topic.
Josh Gad and family.Josh Gad/Instagram
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Gad also opened up to E! on Sunday about working with the Walt Disney Company (he also played LeFou in 2017’s live-actionBeauty and the Beast), and how being “the father of two daughters that are able to grow up with [Frozenheroines] Anna and Elsa as a source of influence to them is so incredible to watch firsthand.”
“To play a character like Olaf who seemingly has stuck [with] everyone from 2 to 92 is a dream come true,” he said. “I remember going to the theater and watching movies likeAladdin, Beauty and the BeastandLittle Mermaidand saying, ‘Ah! How cool would it be to do that one day?’ ”
source: people.com
