‘Being American feels helpless and scary’: actor Ben Platt on nerves, queer songs and why he couldn’t do it without his husband

The star of Dear Evan Hansen plays a 1960s Greenwich Village crooner in hit queer musical Midnight at the Never Get. It’s the perfect outlet for his anxiety, he says

In performance, Ben Platt is a mellifluous singer and loose-limbed dancer, with a fizzy back-note of neurotic New York. The stage – most famously, as star of Dear Evan Hansen – is his safe space. In person, in a south London rehearsal room, he is sweet, earnest, nervy. He crosses his legs, knots his arms about him. The chat roams widely, the body language is wound tight.

Platt talks frankly about anxiety, like it’s his constant companion. So, how’s that going? “My relationship with my husband is a huge factor in being able to manage anxiety. There’s still highs and lows, but everything’s more in my sights, because I thankfully have him. And having something creative to focus on is a big help.”
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