“Looked Like A Tall, Overweight Smurf”: Josh Gad Relives Missing Out On James Cameron’s Avatar After Making It To The Final Round Of Auditions

Josh Gad relives making it to the final round of auditions for Avatar
only to be cut for a unique reason. Directed by James Cameron and released in 2009, the sci-fi action epic stars Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine who joins forces with the native aliens of Pandora against invading humans. The Avatar cast includes Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, Stephen Lang as Miles Quaritch, Sigourney Weaver as Grace Augustine, Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge, and Joel David Moore as Norm Spellman, but, Gad, best known for voicing Olaf in Frozen, is not among them.

In his new memoir, In Gad We Trust (via EW), Gad reveals that he made it quite far in the audition process for the first Avatar before losing out on the part. Gad reveals that he was up for “the role of Jake Sully’s best friend and translator to the alien race known as the Na’vi.” Though he doesn’t specify, Gad could be referring to Norm.

I put myself on tape and shortly thereafter got a call that Cameron wanted to fly me to Los Angeles for a final callback at his Lightstorm production offices,” Gad writes. Ultimately, though, the actor didn’t get into the film because, as he puts it, “while James Cameron was said to be thrilled with my audition, when I was turned into a digital Avatar I supposedly looked like a tall, overweight Smurf.

What Gad’s Failed Audition Means For Avatar

Norm Spellman’s Role Explained


Joel David Moore as Norm Spellman as a Na'vi in Avatar

It’s possible that Gad is exaggerating for comedic effect here, but the Avatar movies do make a point of translating actors’ likenesses into their Na’vi counterparts. This is especially true for those who play Avatars, instead of true Na’vi. When it comes to the native Na’vi, there’s evidently a little more flexibility since audiences aren’t seeing those actors as humans on-screen. Weaver, for example, who is 75, plays teen Na’vi Kiri in Avatar: The Way of Water.

Moore plays a prominent supporting role as Norm in the first Avatar, eventually joining Jake in his fight against the RDA and opting to stay on Pandora after they’re defeated. Norm, a scientist, returned in the sequel and played a more minor role, and he’s set to appear once more in the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash. Presumably, he’ll be returning in the fourth and fifth movies as well. Norm sounds like the most likely character that Gad was up for, and, if so, he evidently missed out not just on one movie, but potentially five.

After Fire and Ash later this year, Avatar 4 isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until 2029. The fifth movie is scheduled to arrive in 2031.

Our Take On Gad’s Failed Avatar Audition

Could He Still Appear In The James Cameron Franchise?


Josh Gad's Sam looking up and worried at Chadwick Boseman's Thurgood in Marshall

Gad is a strong comedic actor, and likely would have made for a great ally to Jake in the Avatar movies. That being said, Cameron’s sci-fi franchise excels, in part, due to its casting. Even though Norm is a minor character compared to Jake and Neytiri, it’s still hard to imagine anyone other than Moore playing him at this point.

Though Gad definitely won’t be appearing in the upcoming third movie, it’s possible, though perhaps unlikely, that he could enter the world of Avatar in the fourth or fifth movies. Those movies have both been written, but, aside from some work that’s been done on the fourth, haven’t yet been filmed. After missing out on the first movie, there could be a character in Avatar 4 or 5 for Gad to take on.

Source: In Gad We Trust by Josh Gad (via EW)

Related Posts

Tolkien Made A Good Point About The Return Of The King’s тιтle, But His Complaint Isn’t As Relevant Today

Tolkien Made A Good Point About The Return Of The King’s тιтle, But His Complaint Isn’t As Relevant Today

J.R.R. Tolkien had an excellent point about The Return of the King’s тιтle, but this perspective behind the third volume of The Lord of the Rings no…

10 Years Later, Re-Reading The First Court Of Thorns & Roses Book Makes Me Want A Long Overdue Story In Book 6 Even More

10 Years Later, Re-Reading The First Court Of Thorns & Roses Book Makes Me Want A Long Overdue Story In Book 6 Even More

A Court of Thorns and Roses turns 10 years old in May, and that makes it the perfect time to revisit the first book in Sarah J….

I’m Convinced James Gunn’s Superman Movie Is Basically Smallville Season 11

I’m Convinced James Gunn’s Superman Movie Is Basically Smallville Season 11

I’m realizing that James Gunn’s Superman has a pretty good chance of being the closest thing we might ever get to Smallville season 11 in live-action. The…

Predator: Badlands Is Still Hiding Another Major Elle Fanning Character Twist Beyond The Android Reveal

Predator: Badlands Is Still Hiding Another Major Elle Fanning Character Twist Beyond The Android Reveal

The upcoming movie Predator: Badlands will add another exciting new movie to the popular action franchise, but the film promises a big twist from past installments thanks…

Havoc Ending Explained (In Detail)

Havoc Ending Explained (In Detail)

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Havoc. The ending of Gareth Evans’ gun-fu action thriller Havoc finds Tom Hardy’s crooked cop Walker on a long and blood-soaked journey…

I Still Can’t Get Over Just How Awful The Reviews Are For Marvel’s Lowest-Rated Live-Action Movie That Scores Worse Than Morbius, Madame Web, & Kraven The Hunter

I Still Can’t Get Over Just How Awful The Reviews Are For Marvel’s Lowest-Rated Live-Action Movie That Scores Worse Than Morbius, Madame Web, & Kraven The Hunter

I’m astounded by the appalling reviews for Marvel’s lowest-rated live-action movie, which scored even lower than Morbius, Madame Web, Kraven the Hunter. While the greatest Marvel movies…