Ben Platt Lpsg (2025)

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How old was Ben Platt in Dear Evan Hansen Broadway? ›

He was 23 when he originated the lead role of Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, after playing the anxious, socially awkward high school student in out-of-town and Off-Broadway runs. Platt would eventually win the Tony for Hansen, and the Broadway production itself would go home with nine awards, including Best Musical.

The only actors with real life ages matching their movie ages are Hailee Steinfeld (Emily) and Ben Platt (Benji), with Hailee being 18 as a freshman and Ben being 22 as a senior. More coincidentally, Emily and Benji are romantically involved at the end of the movie.

Unfortunately, Platt's charm simply did not translate onto the big screen in the movie adaptation of “Dear Evan Hansen.” Directed by Stephen Chbosky, this film absolutely flopped. It failed to maintain a paced plot and didn't properly develop the beloved characters that have so much depth on stage.

But the team behind Dear Evan Hansen put Platt in prosthetics and opaque, pasty makeup, along with a curly mop of hair, that strands the actor firmly in the uncanny valley.

The Bellas gladly accepts, all except for Stacie who is eight months pregnant at the moment and is unable to go with them. The Bellas later arrive at a hangar where two soldiers, Chicago (Matt Lanter) and Zeke introduce them to their competition, revealed to be three other groups who use instruments unlike the Bellas.

Ben Platt's controversial Dear Evan Hansen role is only one reason why the actors didn't return. Trish Sie, the director of Pitch Perfect 3, explained that Astin and Platt had other acting obligations. Sie said that when she received the script, the characters weren't included, and that felt right.

11. Ben Platt originated the role of Evan Hansen in "Dear Evan Hansen" in 2016. Dear Evan Hansen originally started in Washington DC and then moved into an off-Broadway theatre before it established itself as an original Broadway show. Ben played the title character in all three productions.

In 2019, history was made when then-16-year-old Andrew Barth Feldman, following his win at the 2018 Jimmy Awards, became the first age-accurate actor to play the role on Broadway. He exited the role on January 26, 2020, prior to Jordan Fisher's run.

Evan Hansen is a 17-year-old outcast in his senior year in high school, with severe social anxiety and a broken arm. (He broke his arm attempting to commit suicide, which his was climbing a tree and letting go/falling).

Click inside to find out what Ben Platt said...

"I'm [very] flattered that [people] think my locks are a wig and I hate to burst bubbles but sadly those are my own jew curls," Ben tweeted. The Dear Evan Hansen movie will be released in theaters on September 24.