Josh Gad says Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t approve of ‘The Book of Mormon’

Josh Gad claims Jake Gyllenhaal was less than thrilled that he was pursuing a role in it The Book of Mormon.

Accordingly his memoirsIn Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some, released on Tuesday, January 14, Gad, 43, claimed his claim Love and other drugs Costar warned him against pursuing a role in the musical comedy production.

Gad wrote: “While he bounced back and forth doing episodes of The Daily ShowI also made 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 workshopped in New York, hoping to get his advice Whether or not I should pursue it further. He said, ‘Yeah, go for it,’ and I played the opening number.”

Love and other drugswith Gyllenhaal, 44, and Anne Hathaway starring in the lead roles began filming in September 2009 in Pittsburgh. Gad played a supporting role in the story about how pharmaceutical salesman Jamie forms a relationship with Maggie, a woman suffering from early Parkinson’s disease.

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

“I skipped to another track on the album and his face slowly changed from joyful excitement to abject fear and terror,” Gad wrote. “He stopped the car and said, ‘Dude, you can’t do whatever this is. This will be far too controversial. Who the hell even wrote that?’ I paused the music and looked over 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 Park‘S Trey Parker And Matt Stone. Gad’s performance earned him a 2011 Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Musical.

Gad told Us weekly After the publication of his memoirs, overcoming the obstacles in his career path ultimately “became the theme of the book.”

“How do you overcome obstacles in the face of adversity to dream bigger than you could have imagined? “That was the story of my life,” Gad said Us.

The actor also wrote about his father being absent for most of his life, detailing how this affected his own fatherhood experience. (Gad has two daughters, Ava, 13, and Isabella, 10, with his wife Ida Darvish.)

“I had so much fun writing (the book) and I hope that everyone who reads it takes away something that is useful and inspiring,” he told Us. “At least I hope they have a good laugh.”