# Ben Platt

Benjamin Schiff Platt (born September 24, 1993) is an American actor and singer. The son of film and theater producer Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, he began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012–2015), rising to prominence for originating the title role in the Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades, including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (making him the youngest solo recipient of the award at the time), a Daytime Emmy, and a Grammy Award. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical, produced by his father. His portrayal of Leo Frank in the 2023 Broadway revival of Parade earned him another nominations for Tony and Grammy.
Platt's film credits include the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017), Ricki and the Flash (2015), Run This Town (2019), and Theater Camp (2023), the latter of which he also co-wrote. Since 2019, he has starred in the Netflix comedy-drama series The Politician, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Platt signed with Atlantic Records in 2017 and released his debut studio album Sing to Me Instead in March 2019. In May 2020, the concert film Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall debuted on Netflix. Platt's second studio album Reverie was released on August 13, 2021. After signing with Interscope in 2023, Platt's third studio album Honeymind was released on May 31, 2024.
In 2017, Platt was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

## Early life

Platt was born in Los Angeles, the fourth of five children of Julie and Marc Platt. His father is a film, television, and theater producer whose credits include Legally Blonde, Into the Woods, La La Land, Mary Poppins Returns, the musical Wicked, and its film adaptation. He has two sisters and two brothers, including actor Jonah Platt. He and his family are Jewish.
He attended the Adderley School for Performing Arts in Pacific Palisades, performing in productions like Bye Bye Birdie and Into the Woods. Platt attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, graduating in 2011. He then enrolled at Columbia University in New York but dropped out after seven weeks to fulfill his contract with The Book of Mormon. During his time at Columbia, he was a member of the campus a cappella musical group Nonsequitur.

## Career
### 2002–2014: Early stage and The Book of Mormon

At 9 years old, Platt played Winthrop Paroo in The Music Man at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Kristin Chenoweth. At 11, he appeared in a brief national tour of Caroline, or Change, by Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner. At 17, he played Jean Valjean in Kidz Theater's production of Les Misérables. His other early roles include the role of Claude Bukowski in Columbia University's production of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. He has also collaborated on a workshop of Alice by Heart, by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, a new take on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
In 2012, Platt was cast as Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Chicago production of The Book of Mormon. The show premiered at the Bank of America Theatre on December 19, 2012, after a week of previews. The production was well received and closed on October 6, 2013. Critics lauded Platt's performance, calling him a "true revelation in this brand new Chicago production... He really leans into this part, throwing himself out there with the abandonment of youth". Platt later reprised his role as Elder Cunningham on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre from January 7, 2014, to January 6, 2015.

### 2015–2017: Film work and Dear Evan Hansen

In 2012, Platt had a supporting role in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect, loosely based on the non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory. Platt played the magic-loving Benji Applebaum, alongside an ensemble cast including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, and Brittany Snow. The film emerged as a major commercial success and received mostly positive reviews from critics. He was subsequently nominated at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards in the Choice Movie Scene Stealer category for his work. In 2015, Platt reprised his role as Benji Applebaum in the sequel, Pitch Perfect 2, followed by appearances in the films Ricki and the Flash and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.
Platt became attached to Steven Levenson and Pasek and Paul's then Untitled P&P Project in 2014, participating in early read-throughs and workshops. By 2015, the musical, titled Dear Evan Hansen, had begun production in Washington, D.C. at the Arena Stage with Platt originating the title role. The show premiered on July 9, 2015, and it closed on August 23, 2015. The overwhelming positive reception toward the production and Platt's performance resulted in the show being transferred to Off-Broadway.
In 2016, Platt once again originated the role of Evan Hansen at Second Stage Theatre. Platt and the cast played a month of previews, beginning on March 26, 2016, before premiering on May 1, 2016. The limited engagement sold out its entire run with Platt playing his last performance on May 26, 2016.
In December 2016, Platt originated the title role in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre. Critics hailed his work, calling it "historic" and "one of the greatest leading male performances [I've] ever seen in a musical". For his performance, Platt won numerous awards including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. At age 23, Platt was the youngest solo recipient of the Tony Award in the category until Myles Frost won the award in 2022. Platt played his final performance on November 19, 2017.

### 2017–2020: Debut album and The Politician

In 2017, Platt signed a record deal with Atlantic Records. On January 28, 2018, he performed Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere" live at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards accompanied by Justin Goldner and Adele Stein and arranged by Alex Lacamoire.
On March 19, 2018, Platt and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda released "Found/Tonight", a mashup of the Hamilton song "The Story of Tonight" and the Dear Evan Hansen song "You Will Be Found". Platt donated a portion of the proceeds to support the March for Our Lives anti-gun-violence initiative, and also performed on stage with Miranda at the rally in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018. Platt starred opposite Damian Lewis, Nina Dobrev, and Mena Massoud in the Rob Ford historical fiction thriller Run This Town. The casting of Platt caused minor controversy, over allegations that the filmmakers were appropriating the story of female reporter Robyn Doolittle. On March 1, 2018, Platt was confirmed to star in the indie drama Broken Diamonds opposite Lola Kirke, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alphonso McAuley, and Lynda Boyd. The film premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on April 1, 2021, and was released in the United States on July 23, 2021.
In January 2019, Platt announced that his debut studio album Sing to Me Instead was scheduled for release on March 29, 2019. It was made available for pre-order, along with the songs "Bad Habit" and "Ease My Mind" a few days later. Following the release of his debut album, Platt embarked on his first North American tour in May 2019. The tour ended on September 29, 2019, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, in which the concert there was taped for release on Netflix. Platt released a new single "Rain" on August 23, 2019, followed by a music video on September 10, 2019. On April 21, 2020, Platt revealed on Instagram that the taping of his Radio City concert, in the form of a TV special entitled Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall, would be released on Netflix on May 20, 2020.
On August 29, 2019, it was announced that Platt would be starring in Richard Linklater's film adaptation of Merrily We Roll Along alongside Beanie Feldstein and Blake Jenner. The project is set to be shot over the course of twenty years, with principal photography of the first sequence of the film having already been completed prior to the announcement. On January 10, 2023, it was announced that Jenner would be replaced by Paul Mescal.
Platt starred as Payton Hobart on the Netflix comedy-drama series The Politician, which tells the story of a very driven teen convinced that he's destined to become President of the United States. Platt's casting was announced in March 2018, and the series premiered on September 27, 2019. He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for his performance in the series' first season.
Platt released a new single, "So Will I", on May 8, 2020. On May 20, 2020, Platt released Sing to Me Instead (Deluxe), which includes "So Will I", "Rain", and six songs recorded live at Radio City Music Hall, including cover versions of Brandi Carlile's "The Joke" and Elton John's "Take Me to the Pilot". On June 8, 2020, Platt released "Everything I Did to Get to You", a new single written by David Davis, which he picked as the winner of his episode of NBC's songwriting competition show Songland.

### 2021–present: Reverie, Parade and other projects

In April 2021, Platt teased the chorus of his new single, "Imagine", on TikTok. The complete song was released on April 23, 2021, followed by a remix by Dutch electronic producer Tiësto on May 28, 2021. In July, he announced on Twitter that his second studio album, Reverie, for which "Imagine" was released as its first single, would be released on August 13, 2021. The second single, "Happy to Be Sad", was released on July 16, 2021. The Reverie tour was announced on August 13, 2021, spanning 27 stops in North America beginning February 23, 2022, and concluding at the Hollywood Bowl on April 8, 2022. The tour was later postponed due to the COVID pandemic and rescheduled to begin on September 3, 2022, in Seattle, Washington before concluding in Hollywood, Florida on October 7, 2022, for a total of 20 stops.
On June 25, 2021, Platt released a cover version of the song "Yoü and I" by Lady Gaga, as part of the tenth anniversary of the Born This Way album.
On November 29, 2018, it was announced that Universal Pictures and Platt's father, Marc Platt, secured the film rights to Dear Evan Hansen. On June 18, 2020, Platt confirmed that he was set to reprise his role as Evan Hansen in the film, which would be directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Levenson. It premiered as the Opening Night Gala Presentation of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, followed by a release in theaters on September 24, 2021, in time for Platt's 28th birthday. Upon the release of the film's first trailer on May 18, 2021, the casting of Platt as Evan Hansen and the appearance of the film's version of the character received substantial criticism, with viewers commenting that he, at age 27, was too old to play a high schooler. Platt, however, dismissed the response, comparing his age to those of actors who played high school students in the 1978 film Grease. The criticism against the casting went even further, with emerging claims that nepotism was involved in the decision. On August 8, 2021, in an interview with Zach Sang on his YouTube talk show, Platt said "I think the reaction is largely from people who don't understand the context of the piece — the fact that I created the role and workshopped it for three years ... Were I not to do the movie, it probably wouldn't get made. And so, I think, my defensive response is to want to go onto Twitter and be like, 'F you, guys. You don't even know that this wouldn't exist without me.' Of course, that's not true entirely and not my place to say. All I have to do is let the work speak for itself."
On March 2, 2021, it was announced that Platt was in talks to star in the film adaptation of Grant Ginder's novel The People We Hate at the Wedding. His casting was announced on July 8, 2021, along with Amazon Studios being confirmed to produce the film. The film began production in September 2021 and was released worldwide on streaming platform Amazon Prime Video on November 18, 2022 .
On May 17, 2022, it was announced that Platt would play Leo Frank in the New York City Center production of Parade as the gala production of its 2022/2023 season after playing the role in a workshop conducted by Roundabout Theatre Company in 2018. Performances ran from November 1 to 6, 2022, and critics responded positively to Platt's return to the theatre stage. A limited Broadway run was announced on January 10, 2023, with Platt continuing his role as Leo Frank. The revival began previews on February 22, 2023, and opened on March 16, 2023, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The limited run concluded on August 6, 2023. High demand for tickets on the first day of sale resulted in temporarily crashing the Telecharge ticket site, resulting in error messages and queues of an hour long. On the night of the show's first preview, members of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Movement protested against the production outside the theater. The cast album for the production was released by Interscope Records on March 23, 2023. For his performance as Leo Frank, Platt received his second Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.
On June 9, 2022, it was announced that Platt would produce and star in the musical comedy film Theater Camp, inspired by the 2020 short film of the same name he co-wrote with Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, and Nick Lieberman. The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and was acquired shortly after by Searchlight Pictures for a theatrical release beginning July 14, 2023. The movie soundtrack featuring original songs written by Platt, Galvin, Gordon, and Lieberman was released on the same day by Interscope Records. The film was released on streaming service Hulu and VOD on September 14, 2023.
On August 31, 2022, before kicking off the Reverie Tour, Platt confirmed that he was working on new solo music and was a third of the way through completing his next album. On May 11, 2023, Platt signed with Interscope Records for his future music releases and to operate an imprint for which he will sign and develop talent. On March 12, 2024, Platt announced that his third album Honeymind would be released on May 31, 2024, with the first single "Andrew" released on March 14, 2024. On March 18, 2024, it was announced that Platt would hold a three-week residency at the Palace Theatre, the first announced event at the theater since its renovations began in 2018. The residency ran for 18 performances between May 28, 2024, and June 15, 2024, and included special guests Kacey Musgraves, Kristin Chenoweth, Alex Newell, Kristen Bell, Meghan Trainor, Cynthia Erivo, Laura Dreyfuss, Micaela Diamond, Gaten Matarazzo and Brian d'Arcy James. On April 11, 2024, the second single "Cherry on Top" was released alongside the announcement of The Honeymind Tour, a 21-city North American tour that began on June 18, 2024, in Boston and concluded July 27, 2024, in Seattle.

## Personal life

Platt is openly gay. He told his family when he was twelve years old, and publicly came out in 2019. On January 12, 2020, Platt began a relationship with Noah Galvin (whom he first met in 2015 and the latter succeeded Platt in the title role in Dear Evan Hansen in 2017). They announced their engagement on November 25, 2022, and were married over the Labor Day weekend on September 1, 2024.

## Acting credits
### Theater

| Year | Production | Role | Venue | Notes |
| 2002 | The Music Man | Winthrop Paroo | Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles |
| 2004 | Mame | Patrick Denis | Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles |
| 2004 | Caroline, or Change | Noah Gellman | Ahmanson Theatre | National Tour |
| 2005 | Camelot | Tom of Warwick | Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles |
| 2005 | Dead End | Philip Griswald | Ahmanson Theatre | Regional |
| 2006 | The Sound of Music | Friedrich von Trapp | Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles |
| 2012 | The Power of Duff | Ricky Duff | Powerhouse Theatre | Regional |
| 2012 | The Black Suits | Chris Thurser | Barrington Stage Company | Regional |
| 2012–13 | The Book of Mormon | Elder Arnold Cunningham | CIBC Theatre | Chicago |
| 2014–15 | The Book of Mormon | Elder Arnold Cunningham | Eugene O'Neill Theatre | Broadway |
| 2015 | Dear Evan Hansen | Evan Hansen | Arena Stage | Washington, D.C. |
| 2015 | Alice by Heart | White Rabbit / Alfred Hallam / March Hare | MCC Theater | Workshop |
| 2016 | The Secret Garden | Dickon Sowerby | David Geffen Hall | 25th Anniversary Concert |
| 2016 | Dear Evan Hansen | Evan Hansen | Second Stage Theatre | Off-Broadway |
| 2016–17 | Dear Evan Hansen | Evan Hansen | Music Box Theatre | Broadway |
| 2018 | Parade | Leo Frank | Roundabout Theatre Company | Workshop |
| 2022 | Parade | Leo Frank | New York City Center | Off-Broadway |
| 2023 | Parade | Leo Frank | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre | Broadway |
| 2023 | Gutenberg! The Musical! | The Producer (One night only) | James Earl Jones Theatre | Broadway |
| 2025 | Trisha Paytas' Big Broadway Dream! (One night only) | Himself | St. James Theatre | Broadway |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Red Riding Hood | Boy Scout No. 1 | |
| 2012 | Pitch Perfect | Benji Applebaum | |
| 2015 | Pitch Perfect 2 | Benji Applebaum | |
| 2015 | Ricki and the Flash | Daniel | |
| 2016 | Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | Josh | |
| 2017 | The Female Brain | Joel | |
| 2019 | Run This Town | Bram Shriver | |
| 2019 | Drunk Parents | Jason Johnson | |
| 2020 | Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall | Himself | Also executive producer |
| 2020 | Theater Camp | Angelo Bassett | Short film; also writer and producer |
| 2020 | Father of the Bride, Part 3(ish) | George "Georgie" Banks-MacKenzie | Short film |
| 2021 | Broken Diamonds | Scott | |
| 2021 | Dear Evan Hansen | Evan Hansen | |
| 2022 | The People We Hate at the Wedding | Paul | |
| 2023 | Theater Camp | Amos Klobuchar | Also writer and producer |
| 2024 | Chow | Mike | Short film |
| TBA | The Technique | TBA | Filming |
| TBA | Merrily We Roll Along | Charley Kringas | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017 | Will & Grace | Blake | Episode: "Who's Your Daddy" |
| 2019–20 | The Politician | Payton Hobart | Lead role (15 episodes); also executive producer |
| 2020 | Songland | Himself | Episode: "Ben Platt" |
| 2020 | Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 | Himself | Television special |
| 2020 | The Simpsons | Blake (voice) | Episode: "Three Dreams Denied" |
| 2020 | The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II | Himself | Television special |
| 2021 | Big Brother 23 | Himself | Episode: "Episode 24" |
| 2021 | The Premise | Ethan Streiber | Episode: "Social Justice Sex Tape" |
| 2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Himself | Guest judge; Season 7 Episode: "Dance Like Drag Queen" |
| 2023 | The Other Two | Himself | Episode: "Brooke Hosts a Night of Undeniable Good" |
| 2023 | Teenage Euthanasia | Phineas (voice) | Episode: "Sexually Educated" |

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | US | AUS | BEL (FL) | CAN | UK |
| Sing to Me Instead | Release date: March 29, 2019 Label: Atlantic Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming | 18 | 32 | — | 57 | 79 |
| Reverie | Release date: August 13, 2021 Label: Atlantic Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming | 84 | 67 | 160 | — | 32 |
| Honeymind | Release date: May 31, 2024 Label: Interscope Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |||||||

### Soundtrack and cast albums

| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | US | US Cast | US OST | AUS | CAN |
| Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Release date: February 3, 2017 Label: Atlantic Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming | 8 | 1 | — | 34 | 58 |
| The Politician (Music from the Netflix Original Series) | Release date: October 22, 2019 Label: Atlantic Formats: Digital download, streaming | — | — | 20 | — | — |
| Dear Evan Hansen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | Release date: September 24, 2021 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming | — | — | — | — | — |
| Parade (2023 Broadway Cast Recording) | Release date: March 23, 2023 Label: Interscope Formats: Digital download, streaming | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |||||||

### Singles

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | US | US Adult Pop | US Dance | CAN Digital | NZ Hot | Certifications | Album |
| "Waving Through a Window" | 2017 | — | — | 1 | — | — | RIAA: Platinum BPI: Silver | Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording) |
| "Found/Tonight" (with Lin-Manuel Miranda) | 2018 | 49 | — | — | 19 | — | | Non-album single |
| "Bad Habit" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | | Sing to Me Instead |
| "Grow as We Go" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | RIAA: Gold | Sing to Me Instead |
| "Rain" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | | Sing to Me Instead |
| "So Will I" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | | Sing to Me Instead |
| "Everything I Did to Get to You" (from Songland) | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "Imagine" (original or Tiësto remix) | 2021 | — | 27 | — | 48 | 33 | | Reverie |
| "Happy to Be Sad" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | | Reverie |
| "Andrew" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | | Honeymind |
| "Cherry on Top" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | | Honeymind |
| "Treehouse" (featuring Brandy Clark) | 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | | Honeymind |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |||||||||

### Promotional singles

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Ease My Mind" | 2019 | Sing to Me Instead |
| "Temporary Love" | 2019 | Sing to Me Instead |
| "Yoü and I" | 2021 | Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary |
| "Waving Through a Window" | 2021 | Dear Evan Hansen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "You Will Be Found" (with Amandla Stenberg, Liz Kate, DeMarius Copes, Isaac Powell, Hadiya Eshé, Kaitlyn Dever and Dear Evan Hansen Choir) | 2021 | Dear Evan Hansen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "Only Us" (with Kaitlyn Dever) | 2021 | Dear Evan Hansen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "Sincerely, Me" (with Colton Ryan and Nik Dodani) | 2021 | Dear Evan Hansen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) |
| "This Is Not Over Yet" (with Micaela Diamond) | 2023 | Parade |

### Other charted and certified songs

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album |
| Title | Year | US Holiday Digital | Certification | Album |
| "You Will Be Found" | 2017 | — | RIAA: Gold BPI: Silver | Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording) |
| "Sincerely, Me" | 2017 | — | RIAA: Gold | Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording) |
| "River" | 2019 | 24 | | The Politician (Music from the Netflix Original Series) |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |||||