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

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

According to his memoirs“In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some,” released Tuesday, Jan. 14, Gad, 43, asked for his Love and other drugs Costar warned him not to pursue a role in the musical-comedy production.

Gad wrote: “As you bounce back and forth to do episodes of The Daily ShowI also shot a film called Love and other drugs … One day, as Jake and I were driving home from the set in Pittsburgh, I asked him if I could play a demo of a new musical I had recently done a workshop for in New York, hoping to get his advice on whether or not I should go ahead with it. He said, ‘Yeah, put it on,’ and I played the opening number.”

Love and other drugsstarring Gyllenhaal, 44, and Anne Hathaway starring, began principal photography in Pittsburgh in September 2009. Gadd played a supporting role in the story, which followed pharmaceutical salesman Jamie as he begins a relationship with Maggie, a woman suffering from early stage Parkinson’s disease.

Gadd said in his book that Gyllenhaal “laughed out loud” while listening to “Hello!”, the production’s critically acclaimed opening number, before Gyllenhaal’s thoughts took off.

“I skipped to another song on the album and his face slowly went from gleeful enthusiasm to low fear and terror,” Gadd wrote. “He stopped the car and said, ‘Dude, you can’t do whatever this is. That would be too controversial. Who the hell wrote this? I paused the music and looked at him. “The South Park guys.

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

Gad said Us Weekly after the release of his memoirs, that overcoming obstacles in his career eventually “became the theme of the book.”

“In the face of adversity, how do you overcome obstacles to achieve bigger dreams than you could ever imagine?” It was the story of my life,” Gad said us.

The actor also wrote about having a father who was absent for much of his life, describing how it affected his own experience of fatherhood. (Gad shares two daughters, Ava, 13, and Isabella, 10, with his wife Aida Darvish.)

“I enjoyed writing (the book) and I hope that anyone who reads it will take away something that is useful and inspiring,” he told us. “At least I hope they get a good laugh.”