Nick Jonas Once Bombed a 'Frozen' Audition — And He's Finally Telling the Story

Even pop royalty has an awkward audition story tucked away somewhere. For Nick Jonas, that story involves Disney, a very famous snowman, and a rookie mistake that cost him a shot at Kristoff's reindeer-loving life.

The Confession Nobody Saw Coming

During a recent taping of the Jonas Brothers' podcast Hey Jonas!, recorded backstage in a trailer at D23, Nick found himself sitting across from the actual cast of Frozen — Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Idina Menzel — and decided, somewhat spontaneously, that it was the perfect moment to come clean. According to Just Jared, Nick admitted he had once walked into an audition room gunning for the role of Kristoff, only to arrive completely unprepared.

The setup, as he told it, was almost painfully relatable: the casting team asked what he planned to sing, he had no answer, and when they pressed him about sheet music, he had none of that either. He fumbled his way into requesting some random musical theater number on the fly, and the rest, as they say, is Frozen history — just not his.

Josh Gad's Very Generous Take

Leave it to Josh Gad to find the silver lining. The actor — who, of course, gave Olaf his lovable, huggable voice — jumped in with a playful hypothetical: Nick, he insisted, would have had incredible chemistry with Kristen Bell's Anna. Better than Jonathan Groff's, even. It was a jokey compliment, but Nick took it with grace, making sure to clarify that he has genuine love for Groff, the man who ultimately brought Kristoff to life.

The whole exchange had the easy, self-deprecating energy of someone who has long made peace with a missed opportunity. Which makes sense, given how Nick's career trajectory went without the Disney animated feature on his résumé.

A Strange Full-Circle Moment

Here's where the story gets genuinely interesting. Nick and Jonathan Groff have actually shared more than a passing connection over the years — they've literally played the same character. Nick stepped into the role of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 2012 Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a high-profile theatrical run that cemented his stage credibility. Three years later, Groff took on that very same role in a West End concert production of the musical in 2015.

So two performers who almost crossed paths on a Frozen casting tape ended up inhabiting the same Broadway character on opposite sides of the Atlantic. It's the kind of overlap that makes the entertainment industry feel, at certain moments, like a surprisingly small room.

Nick Jonas, Perpetually Busy

The D23 podcast appearance is just the latest reminder that Nick Jonas keeps himself very much in the mix. Whether he's performing alongside rock legends at major American celebrations or revisiting the moments that didn't quite go his way, he brings the same open, energetic presence to everything.

There's something refreshing about a performer at his level willing to laugh at the times the door didn't open — especially when the story involves showing up to a Disney audition without sheet music. It's the kind of honesty that makes a star feel human, and in a media landscape where artists are increasingly guarded, that candor lands.

As for Kristoff? Jonathan Groff made the role iconic. But somewhere in an alternate timeline, Nick Jonas is probably still belting reindeer ballads into a blizzard — and honestly, that version of Frozen sounds like it would have slapped.

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