Ben Platt Wants to Make a Dear Evan Hansen Movie: 'I'll Shave, I'll Get Scrawny'
Ben Platt might just get to return to the role that made him a star.
The actor originated the title role in the hit Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen — and now his filmmaker dad Marc Platt has the rights to bring the powerful story to the big screen.
Platt sat down with Willie Geist on the upcoming episode of Sunday Today, airing September 29, where he loosely committed to starring in the film adaptation if it’s ever made. Platt won the Tony award for best actor in a musical in 2017 for the role.
“I think it’s very unclear the reality of the timing. Any kind of studio film is hard to get off the ground, so there’s nothing I really know yet other than it’s being adapted and they’re trying to get it together,” Platt, 26, says. “I think it would be a really special way to say goodbye to that character if it all works out. Obviously we would just have to collectively forgive me for not being an 18-year-old anymore. But I’ll do my best. I’ll shave, I’ll get scrawny. I’ll do what I can.”
“But I think, if that were to happen and come together, not being a part of it wouldn’t feel right,” he added.
RELATED: Ben Platt on Saying Goodbye to Dear Evan Hansen and Being Broadway’s Sexiest Star
In the time since leaving Dear Evan Hansen, Platt released his first solo album, Sing to Me Instead, in March.
The album gave Platt, who came out as gay when he was 12 years old, his “first opportunity to represent my relationships and the men that I’ve loved,” he previously told PEOPLE. “I only wanted to take this leap if I was going to present every part of myself.”
From the start, the actor was resolved to be candid. “If I was going to write about people I loved, I wasn’t going to pretend they weren’t men just because I hadn’t talked about that before.”
He stars opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in the Netflix series The Politician, which lands on the steaming platform on Friday.
Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist airs Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on NBC.
