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

Josh Gadi wanted Jake Gyllenhaal he had no motivation to pursue the role The Book of Mormon.

According to his documentary, “In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some,” released Tuesday, January 14, Gad, 43, says Love and Other Drugs costar cautioned him against pursuing a role in producing musical comedies.

Gadi wrote, “While he was flying he made episodes of The Daily ShowI was also filming a movie called Love and Other Drugs … One day as Jake and I were driving home from Pittsburgh, I asked him if I could play a demo of the new music I had just done for a workshop in New York, hoping to get his advice on whether or not. I must pursue it further. He said, ‘Yeah, turn it on,’ and I played the opening number.”

Love and Other Drugsstarring Gyllenhaal, 44, and Anne Hathaway in lead roles, began filming in Pittsburgh in September 2009. Gad played a supporting role in the story, which followed drug dealer Jamie as he begins a relationship with Maggie, a woman with Parkinson’s disease.

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

“I skip to another song on the album and his face goes from excited with excitement to awe and fear,” Gad wrote. “He stopped the car and said, ‘Dude, you can’t do anything like this.’ This will be very controversial. Who wrote this?’ I turned the music down and looked at him. ‘I South Park guys.’”

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

Gadi said Us Weekly in the release of his autobiography that navigating the obstacles of his career path eventually “became the theme of the book.”

“In difficult situations, how do you overcome obstacles to achieve bigger dreams than what you have set for yourself? That has been the story of my life,” said Gad Us.

The actor also wrote about having an absent father for most of his life, explaining how that affected his 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 that everyone who reads it takes away something useful and encouraging,” he told Sitshele. “At least, I hope they’ll have a good laugh.”