2025 Alumni Achievement Award
Josh Gad is an actor, singer, comedian, writer and producer who has made a significant impact on popular culture through his roles in Broadway, film and television productions. His versatility as both a comedic and dramatic actor has earned him a reputation as a gifted performer whose work transcends genres and generations.
Josh is best known for voicing Olaf in the 鈥淔rozen鈥� franchise, and for his roles in the original Broadway productions of 鈥淭he 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,鈥� 鈥淭he Book of Mormon鈥� and 鈥淕utenberg: The Musical!鈥� He won two Annie Awards for his role as Olaf and received a Grammy Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his work in "The Book of Mormon.鈥�
Josh has also starred in multiple TV series including 鈥淲olf Like Me鈥� on Peacock, "Avenue 5鈥� on HBO, 鈥淭he Comedians鈥� on FX and 鈥淐entral Park鈥� on Apple, which he co-created and produced under his Angry Child Productions banner. 聽On the big screen, he has starred in hit films such as 鈥淢urder on the Orient Express,鈥� 鈥淭he Wedding Ringer,鈥� 鈥淢arshall,鈥� 鈥淏eauty and the Beast,鈥� 鈥�21,鈥� 鈥淭he Angry Birds鈥� films and 鈥淧ixels.鈥澛�
His upcoming projects include 鈥淎dulthood,鈥� which is premiering at the Toronto film festival, a TV adaptation of 鈥淪tay Tuned,鈥� the animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss鈥� 鈥淥h, the Places You鈥檒l Go!鈥� and 鈥淪paceballs 2,鈥� which Josh is writing, producing and starring in.
In addition to his acting career, Josh has been involved in various philanthropic and advocacy projects. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he launched 鈥淩eunited Apart,鈥� a YouTube series which reunited the casts of several popular movies and movie series via video conferencing. The series raised millions of dollars for various charitable organizations.
Josh is also a published author. He has written multiple books including the children鈥檚 book 鈥淧ictureFace Lizzy,鈥� a graphic novel 鈥淭he Writer鈥� and a memoir 鈥淚n Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some.鈥澛�
Josh received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in drama from the College of Fine Arts in 2003. While at 麻豆村, he produced and starred in three original musicals: "The Wizard of Oz: A One Man Show with Other People,鈥� 鈥淏elle Reeve Come and Gone鈥� and 鈥淎xis of E!鈥� and starred in multiple other productions including the 2003 main stage performance of 鈥淭he Skin of Our Teeth.鈥� He continues to maintain a strong connection with Carnegie Mellon, engaging with the next generation of Tartan artists.
To be receiving this incredible honor nearly 22 years after graduating from this iconic program is nothing short of shocking. I am honored and humbled to stand alongside so many monumental figures who have also received this award and who have no doubt scored much higher on their SATs than me, and have presumably done more for mankind than voice a snowman. To my fellow honorees, I am confident one of you is smart enough to stop AI from killing all of us, so I am kindly asking you to consider creating a code that prevents "Terminator 2" from becoming a documentary. Thank you! And God bless the Tartans (whatever the hell they are).
Josh Gad