"Born to be a Disney Prince"

Jonathan Groff is best known for his theater roles on Broadway as Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening, which earned him a Tony nomination, and for his recurring role as Jesse St. James on the Fox TV series Glee.

Now the 28 year-old’s latest role is as Kristoff in the Disney’s newest CGI animated film Frozen. Based on The Little Mermaid author Hans Christian Anderson’s fable The Snow Queen.

In the film, Anna, played by Kristen Bell, must find her sister Elsa, played by Idina Menzel, a queen with wintry powers who goes into self-exile after turning the entire kingdom into a winter wonderland. Kristoff is a mountain man who helps Anna on her mission. Groff talks about the Broadway connections to the film.

“It’s incredible,” Jonathan says, “Everyone in the show I’ve seen in a Broadway show. I got Idina’s autograph at the stage door of Wicked when I went to go see it, yeah, with my mom, back in two thousand and four. And Josh [Gad] obviously in The Book of Mormon and I saw him also in Spelling Bee when he did that. It’s crazy that they got so many theater people to do this movie. I think it’s a little bit of a testament to the sort of like epic nature of these characters.”

“And they wanted people that would really improvise and sort of be open to change,” he adds, “This project evolved so much from when from even from when I started working on it a year and a half ago. The script changed so much and we did so many different variations with the characters and the voices. And I think that theater people in general tend to be game for that kind of thing.”

Jonathan was asked if he preferred playing the hero or villain and why.

“Oh, God, this is a complicated question,” Groff replies, “It’s kind of fun to play both. I’ve played heroes before and I’ve played villains

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

before. My guy is the mountain guy, I’m the blond one, I’m the hot blond one. It’s fun to play the hero because you feel everybody on your side, and it’s nice to have that feeling.”

“But it’s also fun to play the villain for that exact opposite reason,” he continues, “I’ve played villains, the character that I played on Glee was a little bit of a villain for a while, and it was fun to have people come up on the street and be like, oh. That’s fun. It’s fun to get a reaction out of people.”

Groff was asked what he thought of Frozen when he finally saw it all put together.

“I was overwhelmed,” he answers, “I mean, it was exciting, like obviously as a- as a fan of Disney films growing up, it was surreal and exciting to see one with my voice as one of the characters. But even beyond that and even more than that, I felt really proud to be a part of this movie in particular, because I feel like this is like a classic Disney film, that I grew up with. And it’s also turning it on its head in a really interesting, surprising way. And in a way that I feel like I’m so excited that a young generation of kids is going to see a movie like this, where it’s not your traditional sort of princess and prince charming movie. First of all it’s like an action-adventure movie, and there’s great music involved, that the music is written by these composers that specialize in sort of funny sort of offbeat humor. And the message of the movie is so broad and progressive, and in a way that I’ve never experienced in a Disney movie before, that’s classically built in this way. And I felt like, wow, I feel so lucky to be in a Disney movie period, because it’s like a lifelong dream

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

that I never imagined would happen or come true. I never even really dreamt it, because it seems like that’s an impossible thing, so that’s really cool.”

“But beyond that I feel so proud to be in this specific movie,” Jonathan says, “Because of what it- because of what it says and I was talking to Jennifer [Lee], our co-writer and director, and I was just saying to her, ‘How did you write this movie with this beautiful message at the end?’ And it’s so different than anything I’ve ever seen. And she said, ‘I wanted to have a movie that I wanted to be proud of to show to my daughter,’ she has a young daughter. And I thought, this is what really creating art is about. It’s like for the people that we’re leaving it with and especially with these Disney movies. Because kids of a younger generation are going to see them to leave them with these images and thoughts and meanings that you think are really important. I think this is a really powerful movie in that way.”

It was mentioned that Kristoff was reminiscent of a Norwegian guy, so Jonathan was asked if he studied Norwegians for inspiration.

“No I didn’t, the animators did,” he answers, “The animators and the people at Disney spent a lot of time there looking at pictures and going to see different areas. And when you’re in like a room with a microphone and nothing else basically when you’re shooting the movie, except they would show you some inspirational pictures of things that they had seen or things that they had drawn, and they would show me pictures of him. And so, all of that location and all of that research that they did was definitely on the front of my brain and on the front of their brains, and literally plastered all over the room as we were- as we were sort of

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

creating the character on the mic.”

“So that definitely was a huge part,” Groff continues, “He went through so many rewrites, Kristoff. Because he’s like a mountain man and they wanted him to be a mountain man, but they also wanted him to have like a sense of adventure and a sense of innocence and a sense of warmth, because he and Anna end up having like a real teammate sort of relationship. So they wanted him to be strong, gruff, and real, but they also wanted him to have a sort of vulnerable side as well.”

Groff was asked if he recognized himself in Kristoff when he saw the film.

“They videotape us while we’re saying the lines,” Jonathan says, “So that the animators can, if we’re saying a line a certain way with a certain facial expression, they can sort of help to match the voice and the face so that it looks even more realistic,” Jonathan explains, “So they can see, oh, he was making his face- you know, to make his voice sound that way, his face had to look like that. Or he was doing this physical gesture during this moment. And, so yeah, it was so surreal. Because the character looks like the character looks, which I’m a brunette, I’m not a blond, really. Although I have certain highlights in the summer, but to see certain facial expressions definitely you could see- and- and our lead animator told me, he said, you’re going to- you’re going to get freaked out when you see the movie, just be ready. Because you’re going to see yourself in him in like flickers of certain moments and things that he does, and I definitely saw that, it was really cool. We’ve been recording it for a year and a half. Yeah. A yeah and a half, I would go in like once or twice a month and I understood,

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

I had a big revelation of why, because I find that pretty much across the board, the great thing about these animated films is that the storytelling is so spot-on. They hit all the right moments at the right times and the storytelling is just impeccable. And the big lesson I learned as in working on it, was, it’s because they spend so much time rewriting it.”

“I was so excited to see the movie a couple weeks ago, because I didn’t remember which, at one point my character was a hoarder,” he adds, “My sleigh was filled, all my life was in the back of it and I was slightly more insane. And they added the trolls, which is a big element of the story, that was added later on. There are all of these story elements that that they kept putting these together and doing screenings for people and trying to get the tightest best version of the story. And it was really interesting to be sort of a, you know, not really a part of that process, because I didn’t have a say in what was happening in the story. But getting new pages and all of that, it was wow, it was exactly like developing a Broadway show, because it was constantly rewrites being done. There’s a lot of similarities there and it was, it was just inspiring. It’s inspiring that at Disney, they really are not resting on their laurels. They’re not just, yeah they’re not like oh, we’re going to make another animated movie. And then, they make another one. They rerelease all of the old ones in a great way but in addition to that, they’re, you know, why make new animated movies if you’re not going to really try and push them to a new level and to a new place. And it’s very clear that they’re trying to do that.”

Jonathan was asked if he

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

knew his co-star Kristen Bell before shooting the film.

“Didn’t meet her until we saw the movie,” Groff replies, “We were working on the same timeline. She was cast, uh, her and Idina were cast first and I was cast based on partially based on how my voice matched up with hers. A bunch of people audition and then you see who sounds best with her.”

“And they thought that our voices were a good pairing, so that happened,” he continues, “And then, she would go in and record and do an improv thing and then they would tell me what her improv was, and I would sort of improv back with her. But we were never in the room at the same time.”

Groff was then asked if he knew Idina Menzel before.

“Yeah, I knew Idina,” he replies, “I knew Idina first through like the Broadway community. And then she played my coach on Glee, so I’m excited that we got to- and like I, well I guess technically first I met her at the stage door of Wicked. I think I told her I was a fan when we were doing Glee that I had got her autograph at the stage door. And she was, still I forget what she was working on in New York when I was doing Spring Awakening, and I would go to do Bikram Yoga between shows sometimes.”

“And so I would see Idina, this was before I met Idina, doing Bikram Yoga,” Jonathan continues, “And I would be so starstruck and like, oh my God, I’m taking Yoga with Idina Menzel and then we worked together on Glee. And that’s when I really got to know her, and she had just had her baby and now this. But we didn’t really see each other at all in this. I just saw her in the hallway. That’s the first time I’ve seen her in like a year and a half.”

Jonathan

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

was asked how he found his inner-reindeer voice as Kristoff’s reindeer Sven.

“Yeah,” Groff explains, “They had played me this song and had told me about this concept that I was going to be voicing Kristoff and also voicing Kristoff as Sven, which was cool. And it was a lot of trial and error, of making it a specific voice, I don’t know we just did a bunch of things, and then they picked the one that they thought sounded the best.”

Groff also was asked about what kind of snowman he would build and talks about Josh Gad, who plays Frozen’s anthropomorphic comic relief character, the snowman Olaf.

“Every snowman that I’ve built, they’ve been a little taller than Olaf,” Jonathan says, “Not to insult how short Olaf is. But yes, pretty much like that’s the, that’s the thing with the buttons and I’m into a traditional snowman for sure, no teeth. Olaf is so cute. When I found out that that Josh Gadwas going to do Olaf, I was like, oh my god. We’re so lucky to have him, because I think he’s a comedic genius.”

“And sort of in the way, when you watch Aladdin and you see Robin Williams as the Genie, and you just see Robin Williams as the Genie,” he adds, “I feel like Olaf, it’s just so Josh and- and it’s so his comedy, and it’s so his, his specific voice. And I feel like the movie is so blessed to have him voicing that character, because I feel like he brought so much to it. It made me laugh so hard, they would play me little, well his song first of all is hysterical, and then they would play little things that he would say. Josh just has a very specific voice that is hilarious.”

Jonathan was asked what he thought about the ending.

“I wish that we could write about it or talk about it,” he answers, “We can’t talk

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

about it really in the interviews, because not give away the ending, but to talk about it without talking about it, I feel so honored to be a part of this kind of movie, because it’s like all of your favorite things that you love about the traditional movies that I grew up with. Like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, like it’s in that vein of those classic films. But it really has got all those classic elements in it, but it turns it on its head in a very progressive sort of very 2013 way, that I feel really, I feel really proud to be in that.”

“I feel the first time when we saw it, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Groff continues, “I feel so honored to be a part of this movie, I really do. I think it’s so cool that they’re taking a chance in that way, in this movie, that they’re taking a chance in one way because they are doing something classic, which is a risk because do people still want to see these like great classic movies. And there’s comedy and adventure in it, but to turn it on its head in the way that they’ve turned it on its head is really interesting.”

Groff was asked if having done Spring Awakening was a big stepping stone for him as an actor.

“Yeah for sure, Spring Awakening was everything,” Jonathan replies, “I mean, Spring Awakening has changed the trajectory of what was happening in my career. And it also changed me as an artist. I felt like when I first moved to New York, it was just about getting a job, I just wanted to work. And obviously still I have that desire to work and just be employed as any actor does. But Spring Awakening really taught me about what it meant to be an artist and what it meant to

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

be invested in what you’re doing, and how important it is to believe in the message of what you’re working on.”

“And I’ve really carried that with me through from then until now,” he continues, “I’m in San Francisco now working on a new show for HBO called Looking that I feel really emotionally and passionately invested in. And I think that it’s sort of a spring awakening really, really understanding that you can do your best work when you really believe in what you’re saying and what’s happening in the project.”

Jonathan was asked if his days doing Glee on over.

“I think so, but you never know,” Groff says, “I was there for the first season and then I came back for a couple days in the second season. And a couple days in the third season as a guest star. I’m committed to working on this current show that I’m in now, so I think contractually I’m unable to do other television work, but you never know.”

Groff shared what Looking, which will premiere on HBO in the winter of next year, will be about.

“Looking is going to be on HBO on January 19, it’s airing after Girls,” he reveals, “And it’s a TV series about a group of gay guys living in modern day San Francisco. And Girls is such an incredible show. I’ve seen every episode, it like blows my mind how good it is. It’s similar in that it’s a group of friends and it’s specific to a city, Girls takes place in New York, we take place in San Francisco.”

“The sensibility is a little different and it’s obviously different writers,” Jonathan adds, “But I think that the major similarity between Girls and our show is that Girls I think captures a world, a very specific world. And I think in a different way we’re trying to capture a world of these guys living in San Francisco. And we’re shooting there on

"Born to be a Disney Prince"

location I’ve been there since the end of August, which has been beautiful.”

Jonathan was asked if Looking is going to be the gay male version of Sex and the City.

“There’s an incredible independent film that came out a couple years ago that I saw here in New York in a movie theater called Weekend, directed by this guy named Andrew Haigh,” Groff says, “And it’s this beautiful gay movie that I saw with my friend, who is straight. We went to the movie theater, and we were both completely wrecked by it. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous movie. And so, this TV show sort of has the same sensibility as that movie, but it’s just with a more comedic spin.”