In Wonder Man, actor Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) discovers a barrier to entry that may prove insurmountable for him in Hollywood: the Doorman Clause, named after DeMarr Davis (Byron Bowers), a superpowered actor also known as Doorman who used his abilities but ended up with actor Josh Gad trapped inside of him, permanently ending his career and setting a truly unfortunate precedent.
Awards Buzz spoke with Gad about how he knew that he was the right person for this role:
“You know, there are a lot of qualified people to play Josh Gad. He’s not a complicated person, but I knew that there was something in me that could find a way to really get to the bottom of the authenticity of this guy. I felt like I understood the inner workings of his brain, as disturbing as it may be. I felt like I understood how he carries himself and his flaws. I really felt like I had a good sense of his many flaws. At the end of the day, it just felt like there was only really one man for the job and it was me. So I was very honored when they called me. I originally thought the role would go to Jack Black, but when they said, we want you to play you, that’s when I knew I made it. This has been a great interview.”
He took on a slightly more serious attitude to discuss how close he actually feels to this version of himself:
“Thank god this is nowhere near who I am. When our incredible creative team, Destin and Andrew, reached out to me, along with the brilliant director James Ponsoldt and Kevin Feige about this, they seemed afraid to pitch me some of what they wanted me to do in this, specifically doing a crazy version of ‘In Summer’ at a nightclub, and I immediately said, if I’m going to do this, I don’t want there to be any censoring. Don’t ask, just do. Because if I’m saying no to stuff, it’s just going to be less funny. So anything you think is really what you need to tell this story and what you need in order to service this incredible episode called Doorman, let’s just do it. I gave them permission not only in our conversations but on set. One of the first scenes we shot, I improved that line ‘you don’t need to know how to act in order to be an actor, look at me,’ because I wanted them to feel free to really just take as many shots as possible.”
Watch the video above to hear Gad’s reflections on joining the MCU in this way, returning to the Tony Awards and The Book of Mormon, and reminiscing about short-lived TV shows of his like Avenue 5 and Wolf Like Me.
Wonder Man is streaming on Disney+.
