Josh Gad has had a prolific career in comedy. But he is best known as the voice of lovable snowman Olaf in the monster animation hit Frozen. The 34-year-old is in theatres this Friday in the Adam Sandler sci-fi-action-comedy film Pixels.

t2 spoke with the actor-comedian on a video chat from Cancun, Mexico during the annual Summer of Sony press tour.

What got you interested in the film?

I chose to do it because I had no other offers at the time! (Laughs). It was the first thing that came my way and I was desperate. I made some bad bets in the states. I lost some money and (Adam) Sandler (co-star and the film’s producer) said: ‘I have a movie that can bail you out, buddy’. Honestly, other than all the creative components that attracted me to it, there was an element of... there’s no real family live-action films that I can actually go to with my kids. They’re rare these days and for me, Pixels was one of those rare movies that I can actually take my daughter to. I can share this with her, you know?

Most of the arcade games that feature in Pixels like Pacman and Donkey Kong were big hits in the ’80s. Do you think the younger demographic today will relate to the film?

As the youngster in this film, I think Pacman and all of these games are actually still very relevant. There’s a simplicity to these games where you’re simply a disembodied yellow head chasing down a bunch of ghosts as opposed to driving through open streets in Grand Theft Auto… which as a 34-year-old, I’m still confused how to do. So, I think there’s a universality to all of these games and a recognisability to them.They speak to all generations.

What were your favourite video games when you were younger?

My favourite game was Donkey Kong and Pacman, but I actually love Tetris. I used to sneak my Game Boy into class and just play.  That’s why I flunked out of school.

What’s the last game you played?

The last game I played was this morning actually.... I played Candy Crush. I’m not going to lie.

Do you miss the ’80s? Do you think they were better or more fun than today?

There was an innocence of the ’80s that I miss. Here’s what I think is so great about Pixels... everybody misses the movies from the ’80s. There was a carefree attitude to all those Amblin movies.

How great was it to work with Chris Columbus?

This movie is like a mixture of all the things that make Chris Columbus so iconic. It’s like the tone of Gremlins and Goonies. It’s got kind of the scope of what he did in the (Harry) Potter films with a smaller budget and he’s got me looking like Mrs Doubtfire (laughs).

Peter Dinklage is in the film…

I liked him until he started killing people on our set.  That felt a little weird! (Laughs) No, never did it himself!(Laughs) Seriously, Peter’s the greatest. I think of all of us, I’m the one who watches Game of Thrones (in which Dinklage plays Tyrion Lannister) the most religiously. So when we were filming towards the end of the season, I had an opportunity to watch the last three episodes with him.

Games nowadays look a lot like movies and movies have become more interactive. Both genres are influencing each other more than ever. How do you think this will influence cinema?

I think that we are entering a new phase of immersive entertainment.  We just actually saw a demo of a virtual reality thing and I think that is the future.You have some of these interactive movie theatres now where it’s like an attraction at Disney where you sit on the chairs and there’s like wind blowing and all of these water effects and I think that that’s where we’re entering. I think that we’re entering into a new realm where because we’re so used to interactivity, I think that’s going to be part of the immersive experience of going to the cinema.