Even Josh Gad’s Kids Didn’t Like His Look in Artemis Fowl

Most kids probably know Josh Gad as the voice of Olaf, or even for his take on Lefou in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast. His roles on screen are often fun and cheerful, but his new character in Artemis Fowl is a bit of a departure. Yes, the film is still for kids, and Mulch Diggums is still a pretty nice guy, but Gad’s new character is much more rugged than those he’s taken on in the past. With a long hair, messy beard, and dirty face, it’s a totally new look for Gad, one that his kids didn’t like very much.

According to Cinemablend, Gad showed his kids his look for the movie and tried to convince them that it wasn’t makeup. They weren’t exactly happy about it, so the actor eventually caved and told them the truth.

“At first I tried to convince them that daddy really did completely change his look and that this was my new face,” Gad explained. “They were like, ‘Really? But we want to see your face, dada.’ I’d be like, ‘Alright.’”

In order to achieve the look of Mulch Diggums in the film, Gad had to spend quite a lot of time in the hair and makeup chair every day. Much more than he had to in films like Beauty and the Beast or Murder on the Orient Express.

“There is so much hair on my face and head in this movie,” Gad told Seattle news channel King 5. “It’s just an incredibly job that the hair and makeup department did – that every department on the film did.”

The hair and makeup teams working on Artemis Fowl went through multiple looks for Gad’s Mulch Diggums before landing on the right one. Back in April, Gad shared a photo from his very first Artemis Fowl makeup test, showing a much more rugged, creepy take on the character.

“First makeup test for Artemis Fowl,” Gad wrote in the post. “We eventually decided to lose Mulch’s marble green eyes and settle for my simple mundane brown eyes. These contact lenses were like putting coffee mug coasters into my eye sockets.”

What did you think of Gad’s bearded look in Artemis Fowl? Let us know in the comments!

Artemis Fowl is now streaming on Disney+.