Fascinating Facts About Ben Platt

1 He was born and raised in LA.

Even though Ben is a Broadway sensation, he actually grew up on the West Coast. He attended the prep school Harvard-Westlake School in LA and graduated in 2011. He is still close friends with his high school classmate Beanie Feldstein, who is Jonah Hill's sister.

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2 He grew up in a musical family.

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It's no surprise that Ben has a love for theater — it runs in his blood. His father, Marc Platt, is the producer behind La La Land and Wicked. His brother Jonah is also in the business, having starred as Fiyero in the latter musical on Broadway. Ben and his four siblings were often dubbed the Von Platts (based on the Von Trapps from The Sound of Music) for their musical talents growing up.

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3 He's Jewish.

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Ben is very open about his Jewish background. His mom, Julie, credits their religious upbringing to keeping their kids so grounded in Hollywood.

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4 His first big role was when he was 9.

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He played Winthrop Paroo in at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Kristin Chenoweth, who went on to star as Glinda in his father's production of Wicked. The two actually met backstage when Marc came to see Ben's performance.

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5 He came out to his family when he was 12.

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During his Netflix special, Ben Platt: Live from Radio City Music Hall, the singer discussed how he told his parents he is gay during a class trip to Israel. Not only were his parents incredibly supportive, but he added that it "really wasn't a thing" or a big coming out moment for him. "I really wished for everyone in the world that it can be that much of a nothing, because it doesn't need to be an event or announcement," he added.

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6 He deferred from Columbia to be in The Book of Mormon.

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After graduating high school, Ben was accepted into Columbia University in New York but put his education on hold to star in The Book of Mormon. He played Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Chicago tour from December 2012-October 2013 and again in the Broadway show from January 2014-January 2015.

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7 He was in an a cappella group on stage and in real life.

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Ben is well-known for playing the nerdy Treblemaker Benji Applebaum in Pitch Perfect. Interestingly enough, he was also a member of Columbia's musical group Nonsequitur A Cappella.

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8 He originally auditioned for Benj Pasek and Justin Paul way before nabbing the lead role in Dear Evan Hansen.

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Before landing the title role in Dear Evan Hansen, Ben auditioned for a different Pasek and Paul original called Dogfight, about a group of Marines on the eve of shipping out to Vietnam. Even though they thought Ben was "incredible," he was a little too young for the cast. Following the audition, Benj sent him a Facebook message mentioning another idea they were developing and suggested they stay in touch. Fast forward a few years later, and the trio were working together on Broadway.

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9 He's the youngest winner of the Drama League Awards.

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In May 2017, Ben won the organization's distinguished performance award, which recognizes a performance on the New York stage in the past year and can only be won once in a performer's career. At 23, he became the youngest winner in the award's history.

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10 He's a Tony winner.

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Ben took home best performance by an actor in a leading role at the Tony Awards in 2017. Not only was it his first win, but it was also his first nomination.

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