Ben Platt

Ben Platt was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 24, 1993. He was bitten by the theatre bug at an early age, appearing in The Music Man alongside Kristin Chenoweth at the age of 9. While studying at the Adderley School for Performing Arts in Pacific Palisades, he performed in productions such as Into the Woods and Bye Bye Birdie. He attended Harvard-Westlake School and, after graduation in 2011, he went to Columbia University in New York. He was forced to drop out after six weeks to make his first big break in the world of theatre. He had landed the coveted role of Elder Cunningham in the national tour of The Book of Mormon. After his commitments to the tour concluded, he returned to the university, where he played Claude Bukowski in Hair and even became a member of the campus a cappella group Nonsequitur.

These experiences earned Platt his breakthrough film role. Movie fans know him as the lovable but awkward Benji Applebaum in both Pitch Perfect (released in 2012) and Pitch Perfect 2 (2015). He has also appeared on screen in Ricki and the Flash, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Drunk Parents and Will & Grace.

Platt made his Broadway debut on January 7, 2014, reprising his performance as Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon and remaining with the production until January 4, 2015. He followed this up with another star turn, this time in the title role of the Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. The world premiere was held at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage in July 2015, the Off-Broadway run followed at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theater from March to May 2016, and the Broadway transfer officially opened at the Music Box Theatre in December 2016. Platt went on to win the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical at the Tony Awards in 2017. He played his final Broadway performance in the role on November 19, 2017. Four years later, however, he reprised the role on screen for the movie adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen.