Josh Gad Josh Gad s one of Hollywood’s most versatile actor-comedian-singers who has enjoyed success both in front and behind the camera through his 18-year career.  This 39-year-old Florida native is known for roles in such movies as The Internship, 21, Love & Other Drugs, Jobs, The Wedding Singer, A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, and most recently, Artemis Fowl.

Gad has also voiced such iconic roles as Olaf in the Frozen franchise, LeFou in Beauty and the Beast, and he also played Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. 

In the new animated series Central Park, he serves triple duty as co-creator, executive producer and voice actor. Set against the backdrop of Manhattan’s beloved landmark, the Apple TV series is about a family living in Central Park who must save it from a greedy land developer. Gad brought together an impressive cast, including Kristen Bell, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., and Stanley Tucci.

Was it difficult to assemble the cast?  You have some great names.

Surprisingly, it was easier than I would have imagined.  I put on paper my dream team and one by one everybody signed up.  I started with my friend, Kristen Bell, who I’ve been desperately wanting to work with on something outside of the Frozen franchise.  From there I went to my college classmate, Leslie Odom Jr from Hamilton, and he immediately agreed.  I had this insane idea to ask Stanley Tucci, and I was like, ‘No way,’ but then Stanley read the script and absolutely loved it.  So the answer is, it was much easier than I ever imagined it was going to be. It was much easier than it probably should have been, so I’m eternally grateful.

Where’s your favorite spot in Central Park?

I love Strawberry Fields very much. I’m a huge John Lennon fan and I find it almost spiritual to go there.  I love walking by the statues, I love the lake, I love the pond, I love all of it.  There isn’t a part of Central Park that I don’t find unbelievably exciting to be in.  And the reason that I originally pitched this idea of doing this show in Central Park is that Central Park remains the great equalizer.  In a city truly divided by class and divided by social status, in this park, you could be the wealthiest person in the world or the poorest person in the world, the park is an even playing field for all of you.  You’re just another New Yorker, you are just another person, and I love that. And it reminds you that we are all in this crazy ride together.

Do you remember your first visit?

I was about five years old.   I remember walking through the park, and in particular, I remember the first time I saw the ducks which was a very big thing for me, passing by the pond and seeing the ducks and wanting to feed the ducks and my mom being, like, ‘No! The ducks will bite you!’  (laughs)

A scene from Central Park.

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What about your kids? 

My girls love the skating rink and they love seeing the horses walk by, even though we are all not necessarily thrilled to see horses go through Central Park, we appreciate the beauty of those animals and the amazing sight of these incredible creatures strolling through this man-made wonder in the middle of this steel metropolis.  So my girls, every time we go there are always taken aback and it doesn’t matter if you are three or 93, the park is just so breathtaking because it doesn’t belong. (laughs) It’s so crazy to suddenly be surrounded by green in a steel jungle.  And it doesn’t matter how many times I walk through it, I am always so grateful and so blown away that it exists. 

What is the takeaway message?  What would you like audiences to feel?

I think the audience will be able to take away for themselves what they want to.  For me, the takeaway and I hope for others, is this theme of resilience.  You have this family in the middle of the park, the father is the caretaker of this park and they are up against forces way beyond their power, including a woman who has a whole lot of money and who is desperately trying to buy the park and turn it into condos. And it just shows, hopefully, the power of perseverance, the power of being a unit and the power of joy and overcoming anything in the face of adversity as our main characters struggle to do throughout the course of the season and ultimately the series.

Is this your love letter to New York?

Yes.  My big hope is that it’s a love letter to those who love to visit but more importantly to those who find themselves living in the middle of the city hit hardest by the pandemic right now.

What have you been binge-watching through the pandemic?

I finished Westworld, getting ready to do season three of Killing Eve and about to start watching Unorthodox. My wife is binging through series after series, I unfortunately have not had the luxury of time that she does.  (laughs) At the end of the day after being this amazing superhero in teaching our kids, she gets a break.  I however am a night owl and I keep working through the night. 

What is it like normally when Josh Gad goes to school to pick up his kids? Do the kids go crazy? Or are you old news by now?

They are nonplussed now, they are so used to it.  It’s like I have to drag them to listen to me now.  At first, it was cool and now it’s like, ‘Do you have any friends you can bring instead?’(laughs).