NICK JONAS ONCE AUDITIONED FOR KRISTOFF IN FROZEN — BUT “BOMBED” HIS AUDITION

Nick Jonas has revealed a little-known story from his career: he once auditioned for the role of Kristoff in Frozen, but the audition went so badly that the singer himself admitted he had “bombed” completely. He shared the story on the Jonas Brothers’ podcast, Hey Jonas!, while Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas were chatting with Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel at D23.

The story came up unexpectedly when the stars of Frozen joined the podcast. Nick said he had not originally planned to tell the story, but it suddenly came up during the conversation. The singer admitted that he arrived for the Kristoff audition without preparing the singing portion in the way the casting team expected. “I auditioned for Frozen. I went in for Kristoff,” Nick recalled, introducing one of the more amusing behind-the-scenes stories surrounding the film’s casting process.

According to Nick, the problem began when the casting team asked which song he planned to perform. “I went in, and they said, ‘Okay, what are you going to be singing today?’ I said, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’” His answer understandably caught the people in the audition room off guard. They asked whether he really did not know what he was going to sing and whether he had brought the sheet music. Nick then realized that he had either not been properly informed or simply had not prepared for the audition in the way he should have.

“Do you have your sheet music?” was the next question Nick received. He replied, “No, no one told me I had… Okay, let’s…” Instead of performing a carefully prepared song, the singer had to ask the accompanist to play something, although he could barely remember what he had chosen. Nick described it as some kind of musical-theater song, but the improvised performance clearly did not give him the opportunity to show his abilities at their best.

Looking back on the moment, Nick did not try to make excuses for what happened. He simply admitted, “And I bombed the audition. It was terrible.” For an artist who had spent years performing on stage from a young age, acknowledging that he had once delivered such a poor audition was unusually candid. Yet the way Nick told the story made it clear that he now views the experience with humor rather than regret.

Kristen Bell, who ultimately voiced Anna in Frozen, immediately offered a teasing response: “That must have been why you didn’t get it.” Her brief comment made the story even lighter, especially because audiences already know how the casting ultimately turned out. Jonathan Groff was chosen to voice Kristoff, while Bell became Anna and Idina Menzel voiced Elsa.

Josh Gad, who voiced Olaf, took the joke a step further by suggesting that Nick and Kristen might actually have made a better on-screen pairing. “Look, I’ll say it here. You would have such better chemistry with Kristen than [Jonathan] Groff. It would be so much better,” Gad joked. Nick did not challenge the comment and instead quickly made it clear that he loves Jonathan Groff, who ultimately became the voice of Kristoff in the franchise.

Interestingly, the connection between Nick Jonas and Jonathan Groff goes beyond the failed Frozen audition. The two actors have also played the same character at different points in their careers. In 2012, Nick became a Broadway replacement for J. Pierrepont Finch in the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Several years later, Groff took on the same role in a West End concert performance of the musical in 2015.

So although Nick never became Kristoff, his career has crossed paths with several of the performers associated with Frozen. The story also highlights an important part of Jonas’ artistic background: before becoming an international pop star, he had already developed significant experience in acting and live performance, beginning when he was a child.

Nick Jonas was born in 1992 in Dallas, Texas, into a family with strong musical roots. He would eventually form the Jonas Brothers with his older brothers Joe and Kevin, but long before the group became a global phenomenon, Nick had already begun working as both an actor and a singer. He appeared in several productions aimed at younger audiences and took part in various musical projects before the Jonas Brothers became household names.

The Jonas Brothers became a major pop culture phenomenon in the late 2000s. Their albums and hit songs, combined with appearances on Disney Channel programs and films, transformed Nick, Joe and Kevin into some of the biggest teen idols of their generation. Camp Rock also helped connect them with other young Disney stars of the era, including Demi Lovato, who later dated Joe Jonas.

While Joe and Kevin remained closely associated with the Jonas Brothers, Nick also pursued a solo career on several occasions. He formed Nick Jonas & the Administration and released solo music before the Jonas Brothers eventually reunited. His single Jealous became one of the biggest hits of his solo career, helping him establish a more mature image beyond the teen-idol persona that had defined his early years.

Nick’s career has also extended well beyond music. He continued acting in television and film while returning to the Broadway stage. His performance as J. Pierrepont Finch demonstrated that acting was not simply an extension of his status as a singer but an area in which he had genuine ambitions as a performer.

On television, Nick drew attention through projects such as Kingdom and Scream Queens, while his role in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle introduced him to an even broader film audience. His television roles also allowed him to move further away from the teenage image associated with his Disney years and demonstrate a wider range as an actor.

If the Frozen audition represented one opportunity Nick failed to secure, his personal life has followed a very different trajectory. In 2018, Nick married Indian actress Priyanka Chopra after a relatively rapid romance. The couple held multiple wedding ceremonies in India, incorporating traditions from both of their families and cultures.

Nick and Priyanka subsequently became one of the most closely watched celebrity couples internationally. They frequently appear together at major events while also attempting to keep parts of their family life private. In 2022, they welcomed their daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, through surrogacy. Her arrival marked a new chapter in Nick’s life, with fatherhood becoming an important part of his identity alongside music and acting.

In recent years, Nick has continued to maintain a demanding schedule with the Jonas Brothers. The group has reunited multiple times, embarked on major tours and released new music, while each of the brothers has continued developing individual projects. Nick has increasingly been viewed as a multifaceted entertainer rather than simply the youngest member of a band that rose to fame during the Disney era.

The Frozen story also highlights another reality of the entertainment industry: a failed audition does not necessarily determine an artist’s future. Nick did not get the role of Kristoff, yet he went on to build a career spanning more than two decades across music, television, film and Broadway. Jonathan Groff, meanwhile, became Kristoff and developed his own memorable connection with the character.

Looking back, the most interesting part is not simply that Nick Jonas missed out on a famous role, but that he can now recount the failure so comfortably. Behind the humorous story of an unprepared piece of sheet music and a “terrible” audition is an artist who has repeatedly taken risks across different forms of entertainment, sometimes succeeding and sometimes accepting that a particular opportunity simply was not meant for him.

That may be what makes Nick’s Frozen audition story so entertaining. He once had the opportunity to become Kristoff, but an unprepared audition resulted in him “bombing” and ultimately losing the role to Jonathan Groff. Years later, Nick can sit alongside Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel and recount the experience as a funny memory. For an artist who has achieved enough success to look back at his failures with a smile, Kristoff is ultimately just one role he missed along a much longer career.