Ben Platt My Own Story

THE DEAR EVAN HANSEN STAR OPENS UP ABOUT HIS LOVE LIFE IN HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM

- Julie Jordan

Ben Platt is a bit of an overachiever. At 25 he’s beloved by tweens for playing Benji, the nerdy magician from the Pitch Perfect films, and he’s won a Tony, Grammy and Emmy for the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. But there is one adjective almost everyone reaches for her to describe him: He’s nice. And it’s true. Platt is quick with a hug and innately lights up a room. Yet he’s much more than that. On Feb. 6 he hit the stage of an L.A. club aptly called the Nice Guy as the real Ben Platt, a grown man who just cowrote his first solo album, Sing to Me Instead, full of songs about love and hurt that come from his heart. How did it feel? “Scary,” says Platt. “It’s completely me. I’m getting to share without any filter of character or writing. But I really am loving that feeling.”

And so begins the Second Act of Platt, who has already had a blockbuster first one. Unlike his past work, Sing to Me, out March 29, is a deeply personal exploration of his romantic life. While Platt, who came out as gay when he was 12, feels his sexuality has long been just another benign fact of life to those who know him, “I only wanted to take this leap if I was going to present every part of myself,” he says. “It’s been the first opportunity to represent my relationships and the men that I’ve loved.”