Josh Gad has branded ‘Beauty and the Beast’ as a film about "unity".
The 36-year-old actor stars as LeFou in the live-action remake of the 1991 Disney animated classic, and has praised the movie for touching on the importance of "inclusiveness" after it was revealed his character – who is the bumbling sidekick of antagonist Gaston, played by Luke Evans – would be the first openly gay character in Disney history.
Speaking to People magazine, Josh said: "What I would say is that this film is one of inclusiveness. It’s one that has something to offer everyone.
"There is so much fear out there of that which we don’t understand that which we don’t know. And you have a character in Gaston who uses his charm offensive to whip other people into a frenzy to go and attack somebody they’ve never met. Somebody that’s different. Somebody that only represents a danger because [Gaston] says that he represents a danger.
"I think that that theme is as relevant today as it was when ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was first written 300 years ago. So that’s what I hope people take from it."
And Josh – who also stars alongside Emma Watson and Dan Stevens in the movie – hopes people will learn to be "understanding" after watching the recently released feature.
He added: "It’s about unity, it’s about never judging a book by its cover. But digging a little deeper and understanding to not be fearful of things you don’t know or people who look a little different to you.
"Fear is not a good thing to fuel, and Gaston is responsible for that. But he fails — he fails miserably, and everybody finds love. Everyone!"
Meanwhile, Josh previously admitted that his character is able to be "more human" and "wonderfully complex" now that the plot has expanded to give LeFou more detail.
He said: "[Director] Bill Condon did an amazing job of giving us an opportunity to create a version of LeFou that isn’t like the original, that expands on what the original did, but that makes him more human and makes him a wonderfully complex character to some extent.
"It’s an incredible moment and it’s subtle, but I think it’s effective."
Josh Gad: Beauty and the Beast is about ‘unity’
