Los Angeles, Feb 27 (IANS): Actor Josh Gad has starred in a host of big-budget films during his career, including 'Murder on the Orient Express' and 'Beauty and the Beast', but he actually preferred cinema during his childhood.

He explained: "You look at a movie like 'Jaws', and the shark isn't on the screen for more than 20 minutes. And I think we've got bombastically dumbed down in terms of what we think an audience can handle in terms of telling a story slowly, not feeling like you have to go a hundred miles an hour in every single scene."

Gad developed a passion for comedy as a child, and he thinks that it helped his mother to overcome her relationship heartache, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

He told The Independent: "There's a reason people seek out comedy. It's a salve to the pain, it's a weapon to combat the darkness, it's an opportunity for people to break through their grief. In my case, it was not only an opportunity for me to cut through the pain, but it also was a great resource to carry my mom, whose sadness I felt on my shoulders, to a place where she could smile."

As he got older, Gad realised that he could actually turn his comedy talents into a career.

The Hollywood star explained: "What starts off as a weapon in the form of defence becomes something that gives you strength.

"The older I got, the more I realised if I could hone this skill set, then this could be not only useful in terms of navigating my own trauma, but something that I could actually make a career out of. Hell, wouldn't that be cool?"