Josh Gad Says Jake Gyllenhaal Didn’t Approve of ‘The Book of Mormon’

Josh Gad claimed Jake Gyllenhaal was far from enthusiastic about him pursuing a role in The Book of Mormon.

According to his memoir, “In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some,” released on Tuesday, January 14, Gad, 43, claimed his Love & Other Drugs costar warned him against pursuing a part in the musical-comedy production.

Gad wrote, “While bouncing back and forth to do episodes of The Daily Show, I was also filming a movie called Love & Other Drugs … One day as Jake and I were driving home from set in Pittsburgh, I asked him if I could play a demo of a new musical that I had recently done a workshop for in New York, hoping to get his advice as to whether or not I should pursue it further. He said, ‘Yeah, pop it on,’ and I played the opening number.”

Love & Other Drugs, starring Gyllenhaal, 44, and Anne Hathaway in lead roles, kicked off principal photography in Pittsburgh in September 2009. Gad played a supporting role in the story, which followed pharmaceutical salesman Jamie embarking on a relationship with Maggie, a woman suffering from early onset Parkinson’s disease.

Gad said in his book that Gyllenhaal, “laughed his ass off,” while listening to “Hello!,” the critically acclaimed stage production’s opening number, before Gyllenhaal’s thoughts evolved.

“I skipped to another track on the album and his face slowly went from joyful enthusiasm to abject fear and terror,” Gad wrote. “He stopped the car and said, ‘Dude, you cannot do whatever this is. This will be way too controversial. Who the hell wrote this anyway?’ I paused the music and looked over at him. ‘The South Park guys.’”

Despite Gyllenhaal’s alleged concerns, Gad spent 15 months portraying Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon on Broadway, created by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Gad’s performance earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical in 2011.

Gad told Us Weekly upon the release of his memoir that navigating the obstacles of his career path ultimately “became the theme of the book.”

“In the face of adversity, how do you overcome obstacles in order to achieve bigger dreams than you could have set out for yourself? That has been the story of my life,” Gad told Us.

The actor also wrote about having a father who was absent for more of his life, detailing how that impacted his own fatherhood experience. (Gad shares two daughters, Ava, 13, and Isabella, 10, with wife Ida Darvish.)

“I enjoyed the hell out of writing [the book], and I hope everyone who reads it takes away something that’s useful and inspires them,” he told Us. “At the very least, I hope they have a good laugh.”