Comedy helped me to avoid sadness: Josh Gad

For Josh Gad, Hollywood's favourite when it comes to playing goofy roles, humour has always been a resourceful and empowering way to stand out in life.
Gad, 34, is best known for voicing the summer-loving snowman Olaf in kids favourite animated drama "Frozen" and he is currently in a number of big budget Hollywood productions like "Pixels", "The Angry Birds Movie" and "Beauty and the Beast".
In "Pixels", which released in Indian theatres today, the actor plays the role of Ludlow Lamonsoff, a former arcade game champion-turned conspiracy theorist with anger issues. He stars opposite Adam Sandler, Michelle Monaghan, and Peter Dinklage in the movie.

Gad can't remember a time when he was not funny, a talent that he developed to fight loneliness and alienation.
"Like so many of these stories go, I was the product of a broken marriage. And as a way to combat any sadness, I would defuse tension with humour. And that was a very empowering feeling for me. So, I started honing that skill," Gad told PTI at the recent Summer of Sony press event in Cancun, Mexico.
The actor said comedy helped him fight being an outcast in the school. He later realised that he could make a career out of this gift.

"Being an overweight kid in school, you can either be an outcast, or use humour to gain popularity, I chose the latter. I always find it as something which is very useful and in that resourcefulness, I discovered, 'You know what, I may actually be able to make a living out of this'."
Gad loves physical comedy and his idols include Charlie Chaplin, Chris Farley and John Belushi as they "used not only their voices but body" to create a comic experience that was fully realised.
The success of "Frozen" has opened other doors for the actor but Gad says he has always avoided falling into the trap of earning more money; he would rather chase the roles that he loves.