Ben Platt has opened up about the deluge of negative reactions he experienced after last year’s film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen.
The actor won an Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award for his performance as the titular Hansen in the Broadway musical – leaving him only an Oscar away from EGOT status – but received a backlash for the film adaptation.
Many criticised the fact that Platt was still playing the role of a teenage character at the age of 27 when the film’s trailer was released, leading to the actor voicing his frustrations about “randos being jerks about age” on Twitter last year.
Speaking to The New York Times in a new interview, Platt said: “It was definitely a disappointing experience, and difficult, and it definitely opened my eyes to the internet and how horrific it can be.”
He added: “You’d think, after doing Dear Evan Hansen on stage for four years, I would have already known that. I try my best to focus on people who tell me it was moving to them and they really felt seen by it.
“It is very easy for the good to get drowned out by the bad.”
Platt went on to star in the Netflix comedy-drama series The Politician, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy.
Speaking to NME in an interview last year, Platt said he felt unsure about the film adaptation, but was pleased he got to help share the story with “millions more people”.
“I think I was nervous about having to meet that same level in a medium that I’m not necessarily as instinctually comfortable in, and that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to the same kind of fireworks as a live performance,” he explained.
“Having an opportunity to share this story with, like, millions more people is ultimately much more important than my being worried that my performance won’t be as good as it was on stage.”