Hollywood star Josh Gad almost got a role in the 2009 sci-fi blockbuster Avatar, but was denied because he did not have the physical archetype filmmaker James Cameron was looking for.

In his new memoir, In Gad We Trust, Gad recalled while desperate to find a reprieve from starring in The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee on Broadway, he went out to audition for other TV and film roles. And “one of the first things” he tried out for was a “new James Cameron movie called Avatar,” reports Variety, “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,” he said.

If cast, Gad would’ve essayed “the role of Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) best friend and translator to the alien race known as the Na’vi.”

Revealing the reason as to why he did not get the movie, Gad said: “I apparently did not get (the role) because, 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.”

The role appeared to be scooped up by Joel David Moore, who plays Norm Spellman in Avatar, a close confidant to Jake Sully and an expert on the Na’vi language.

Avatar was first released in December 2009. It became the highest-grossing film of all time, raking in $2.9 billion worldwide to date.

The sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, currently sits in third place with a lifetime gross of $2.3 billion. At the 2024 D23 Expo, Cameron revealed the title of the third Avatar film: Avatar: Fire and Ash, which is set to release on December 19, 2025.