The decision to cast Ben Platt as the title character in the film version of Dear Evan Hansen has caused a lot of controversy — but was it worth it? The backlash to his casting is largely due to the fact Platt is portraying a high school student in the movie, although he is now 27 years old. There are also accusations of nepotism surrounding the casting choice since the film was co-produced by Marc Platt, Ben’s father.
At first glance, Ben Platt seems to be an easy pick to play the role of Evan Hansen. Platt's singing talents were showcased in The Politician, as well as in the popular Pitch Perfect franchise. Platt also famously starred as Evan in the original Broadway stage production of Dear Evan Hansen and was awarded the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.
While some were initially excited when casting announcements revealed that Platt would be reprising his role in the movie adaptation, the release of the first trailer for Dear Evan Hansen caused people to reconsider. While Platt’s voice is as good as ever, his appearance no longer fits the role of a high school character. Platt brings a lot of emotion to the film’s best musical numbers and he very effectively adopts the postures and mannerisms of an awkward teenager suffering from anxiety. In these ways, he manages to replicate his performance from the stage version of Dear Evan Hansen. But even with the tears and nervous tics he brings to the physical performance, it is almost impossible to believe that the character is a 17-year-old when Platt’s face is clearly that of a man 10 years older.
If the film had been made a bit differently, the age difference between performer and character could have been made less obvious. After all, Hollywood has been casting adults as teenagers for years: even the iconic high school characters in Grease were played by actors long out of adolescence. But the big difference between the decision to cast adult actors in the two films is that all the characters in Grease appear to be of a similar age. Many of the supporting high-school-age characters in Dear Evan Hansen look much younger than Evan. Both Kaitlyn Dever and Amandla Stenberg, who respectively play Evan’s love interest and classmate, both appear to be younger than Platt and have played high school characters in the recent past. The lighting of several scenes and many close-up shots of Evan’s face in the film also do not aid Platt in achieving a younger appearance. Stage musicals provide an advantage to actors playing characters younger than their appearance, in that the audience cannot get any closer than the front row.
Platt could have possibly gotten away with playing Evan on stage again at his current age because of that advantage, but make-up can only go so far in making an actor appear younger. Production on Dear Evan Hansen also opted not to use the de-aging technology used in films such as Captain Marvel. Unfortunately, the decision to cast Platt as the main character in the film has been more trouble than the quality of his performance is worth. Despite Platt’s vocal performance in the film and his previous attachment to the character, Dear Evan Hansen would be a more effective film if a younger actor had been given a chance to bring a new approach to the role. The obvious age difference between the actor and the character and the difference in appearance between Platt and his fellow actors only serve as a distraction that takes viewers out of the story.