Josh Gad felt ‘pitted against’ Book of Mormon co-star Andrew Rannells

Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells sometimes felt pitted against one another while starring in the Broadway show The Book of Mormon.

The 43-year-old found fame in 2011 when he starred alongside Rannells in the musical comedy, which follows two Mormon missionaries as they go to a remote Ugandan village to preach their faith.

During an appearance on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, the Frozen actor admitted he and Rannells didn’t cope well with the pressure of fronting a new “pop cultural phenomenon” and they “sometimes got into it” because they felt like they were “being pitted against each other”.

“Andrew and I now talk about it, laughing about how stupid and petty all of the little bulls**t was, but it was a pressure cooker,” he continued. “Do you know how petty I was? And hungry and starving for love and adoration? This is so ridiculous but I was so mad that Andrew got the last bow and I didn’t. And that is such a f**king joke that I would even think that way. ‘Cause he clearly was the one who should get the last bow.”

To add to the competitive feeling, Gad and Rannells were both nominated for Best Actor in a Musical at the Tony Awards. However, neither of them won.

The Beauty and the Beast star admitted that his “cocky” behaviour was a defence mechanism because he felt like a fraud and was scared people would discover he’s not “good enough” or “not worthy” of the attention.

Gad and Rannells subsequently reunited on stage in 2023 for Gutenberg! The Musical! and they had the “complete opposite experience” because they didn’t sweat the “insignificant” stuff and now their friendship “has never been stronger”.

The actor also acknowledged that he’s “so bitter” about the fact that he didn’t enjoy the success of The Book of Mormon at the time.

“It was a waste of one of the greatest years of my life. I wanted to get the f**k out of that show by the end because I was miserable,” he confessed. “I didn’t appreciate it enough at the time.”