Ben Platt, the actor who played lovable roommate Benji Applebaum, talks about postponing college for Pitch Perfect , what to look forward to in the sequel, the “Cups” craze, and, of course, magic.
King Perez De Tagle
It's hard to stand out in a chorus, let alone in performances as big as those in the climactic moments of the 2012 smash hit movie Pitch Perfect, but that's exactly what Ben Platt managed to do. He might not have become a household name as a result of the movie, like say, Rebel Wilson, but Platt's character Benji, the dorky, magic-obsessed roommate of leading man Jesse (Skylar Astin), stole audience's hearts when he was finally given a chance to (literally) take center stage, and sing with the a cappella group that had previously rejected him: The Treblemakers. Benji was no longer sitting alone in his room, under his TIE Fighter Star Wars mobile, playing with his magic rainbow handkerchief — he was on the rise.
And though Platt might not have the same passions — or make the same decorating choices — as his character, who will have a much bigger part in the Pitch Perfect sequel that is due to hit theaters on May 15, 2015, he understands where Benji is coming from. He can't do any magic tricks in real life and has never seen a single Star Wars film, but, at a diner in New York City's Theater District, Platt easily channeled Benji's enthusiasm when talking about acting and singing, skills he gets to use both in the Pitch Perfect franchise and eight times a week on the Broadway stage in The Book of Mormon as Elder Cunningham, the part originated by Josh Gad.
"I kind of always pretend I'm talking about musical theater when my character is talking about how much he loves Star Wars because I feel as nerdy about that as someone might feel about Star Wars," Platt said. The 20-year-old actor, who laughed about how his grandparents were coming to see him in the hilariously vulgar Mormon for the first time that evening, is still getting used to being asked for his autograph at restaurants, but is incredibly comfortable on stage. Like the B.o.B. song he sings in that fateful Pitch Perfect scene, Platt definitely has "got the magic" in him when talking about performing.
The actor's love for musical theater runs deep: His parents were both singers, his father produces musicals, and Platt is the second youngest of five siblings, all of whom participated in after-school music programs while growing up in Los Angeles. When he was 9 years old, Platt's after-school teacher sent him on a casting call for a production of The Music Man at The Hollywood Bowl and he won the part of Marian's awkward little brother Winthrop, alongside Kristin Chenoweth as Marian and Eric McCormack as Harold Hill. And with that, Platt said, "I just got bitten by the bug."
Brownstone Productions via giphy.com
No comments:
Post a Comment