American actor Josh Gad was born on February 23, 1981. He is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he left with a degree in drama in 2003. Four years prior, he won the National Forensics League National Tournament Championships, excelling in humorous interpretation and original oratory.
Gad began acting in 2002, playing an extra in the film Mary and Joe. His other movies include The Rocker, 21 and Watching the Detectives. He also guest starred in an episode of ER. In 2007, he joined the cast of the comedy series Back to You, which also starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. There, he played WURG news director Ryan Church, who spent the series trying to impress his crush, weather anchor Montana Diaz Herrera (Ayda Field). The series was a moderate ratings success, but was cancelled after a season. He also had a role in the Tony-winning Broadway play The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2006.