The rollout for the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen got off to a shaky start this week when a newly released trailer drew jeers over the age of its principal star.
Directed by Stephen Chbosky, the musical follows Evan Hansen (played by Ben Platt ), a shy, socially anxious teen who achieves viral fame in the wake of a classmates death. If the film version succeeds, Platt who earned an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony after originating the role of Evan on Broadway in 2016 could get his shot at an Oscar, thus achieving EGOT status .
Of course, nearly five years have passed since Platts chilling, once-in-a-lifetime performance in the stage production. After the trailer debuted Tuesday, many on social media questioned whether the actor, now 27, was still convincing as a high school student.
Im so excited about the Dear Evan Hansen film!!! #DearEvanHansen pic.twitter.com/hX0lJBeDma
Jason Tinney (@jtinneydance) May 18, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Jason Tinney","author_url":"https://twitter.com/jtinneydance","cache_age":86400,"description":"Im so excited about the Dear Evan Hansen film!!! #DearEvanHansen pic.twitter.com/hX0lJBeDma Jason Tinney (@jtinneydance) May 18, 2021\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":278,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1rjzpCXEAYmsdE.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":500,"title":"Jason Tinney on 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News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Broadway","slug":"broadway","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/broadway"},{"name":"Dear Evan Hansen","slug":"dear-evan-hansen","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/dear-evan-hansen","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/dear-evan-hansen","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/dear-evan-hansen"},"relegenceId":6428128,"url":"https://action.news/topic/dear-evan-hansen"},{"name":"ben platt","slug":"ben-platt","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/ben-platt","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/ben-platt","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/ben-platt"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/ben-platt"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">Im so excited about the Dear Evan Hansen film!!! #DearEvanHansen pic.twitter.com/hX0lJBeDma
Jason Tinney (@jtinneydance) May 18, 2021
ben platt during his first day of shooting dear evan hansen (2021) pic.twitter.com/MBaVoM3mha
dartagnan | (@ayellowlamp) May 18, 2021","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"dartagnan | ","author_url":"https://twitter.com/ayellowlamp","cache_age":86400,"description":"ben platt during his first day of shooting dear evan hansen (2021) pic.twitter.com/MBaVoM3mha dartagnan | (@ayellowlamp) May 18, 2021\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1050,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1rkO5lWYAEh-zU.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1400,"title":"dartagnan | on 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dartagnan | (@ayellowlamp) May 18, 2021
A number of media outlets chimed in, too.
Ben Platt is not too old to play Evan Hansen, and in certain circumstances, he never will be, The A.V. Club wrote . But hes too old to play him in this movie. Similarly, Jezebel griped : Asking anyone to overlook the fact that Ben Platts makeup and physicality make him look 40 while hes trying to play a teenager is simply a tree that one cannot climb.
By Wednesday, Platt himself responded to the criticism.
Thank u from the bottom of my [heart] for the outpouring of trailer love yesterday, he wrote in a since-deleted tweet, which was captured for posterity by Variety , BuzzFeed and other outlets. The film required me to revisit areas of personal pain, so seeing ppl excited & moved makes it so deeply worth it. PS to the randos being jerks about age, read this great article and/or watch grease.
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Ben Platt calls out the randos being jerks about [his] age in the #DearEvanHansen movie in a now deleted tweet.
(https://t.co/TUf0pcJH27) pic.twitter.com/XhZ4IvS1KD
Ben Platt calls out the randos being jerks about [his] age in the #DearEvanHansen movie in a now deleted tweet.
Film Updates (@TheFilmUpdates) May 19, 2021
(https://t.co/TUf0pcJH27 ) pic.twitter.com/XhZ4IvS1KD
Platts reference to Grease, of course, raised a valid point. At 33, Stockard Channing was the oldest of Rydell Highs teens when she played Rizzo in 1978. As Danny and Sandy, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were 23 and 29, respectively.
The tweet also linked to a Vanity Fair interview published Tuesday, in which Platt preemptively addressed concerns regarding his age.
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Much to my pleasant surprise, Universal seemed to be really hell-bent on making it, and specifically making it with me, he said . Id lost about 15 pounds and did a very specific diet, grew my hair out, and was shaving to make sure that I didnt look like I had five oclock shadow all the time, you know. I was just stripping myself into being a teenager for the last time. For what is hopefully the last time.
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