1993-09-24

BENJAMIN “BEN” PLATT is an American actor, singer, and songwriter born on this date. 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 Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades, including the Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Awards, which made him one of the few people to do so. Winning at 23, Platt is the youngest Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical solo winner. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical.

Platt was born in Los Angeles, the fourth of five children of Julie (née Beren) and Marc Platt. His father is a film, television, and theater producer whose credits include Legally BlondeInto the WoodsLa La LandMary Poppins Returns, and the musical Wicked.

Platt’s film credits include the Pitch Perfect film series, Ricki and the Flash, and Run This Town. Since 2019, he has starred in the Netflix comedy-drama series The Politician, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy.

In 2017, Platt was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

Platt signed with Atlantic Records in 2017 and released his debut studio album, Sing to Me Instead, in March 2019. In May 2020, a concert film, titled Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall, debuted on Netflix. Platt’s second studio album, Reverie, was released in August 2021.

Platt is gay; he told his family when he was thirteen years old, and publicly came out in 2019, before the release of his song “Ease My Mind”. In January 2020, Platt began dating Noah Galvin (who replaced him in the titular role in Dear Evan Hansen). In November  2020, he revealed that back in March of that year, he tested positive for and eventually fully recovered from COVID-19.