Despite his nearly painful enthusiasm on-stage, Tony-nominated Book of Mormon’s Josh Gad wasn’t immediately thrilled at the thought of so much blasphemy, for fear of, you know, being murdered. “When I first got the phone call three years ago, the very first thing that I was sent was that very controversial number [“Fuck You, God”] about where God can shove it,” he explained in his Vulture interview. “And it was completely out of context and I called up my agent and I said, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ Not because I don’t think Trey and Matt and Bobby [Lopez, who co-created the musical] are the most brilliant people alive. But because I really like not getting shot. And I would love to live a little bit longer. [Laughs.]” Luckily he realized Mormons might be some of the last people on earth who would try to hunt him down and seek bloody retribution, so he wisely accepted. Gad also figured a work around to learning all those dance numbers: subbing in spasmodic groin thrusts. “Yes, it was essentially an excuse to not have to do the insane choreography that all of my co-stars are doing,” Gad says. “So I just did anything that I could do to get a laugh, to save me from having to learn a tap dance. The irony is that I got nominated for a Fred Astaire award, which made the entire cast laugh. And I said, “You know what, guys? Don’t laugh. This is me, this is in my soul. I am this dancer.”
