He won a Tony in 2017 for Dear Evan Hansen
Broadway star Ben Platt has publicly come out as gay in his new music video.
Last month, Platt announced his debut album, Sing to Me Instead. He subsequently released two singles from the upcoming album, Bad Habit and Ease My Mind.
With the premiere of the latter’s music video on Wednesday (13 February), Platt shares a part of himself with the world for the first time.
Shot entirely in black and white, the video depicts a domestic romantic relationship between two men. It also shows the weight of mental health struggles. Actor Charlie Carver plays Platt’s love interest in the video.
‘Darling, only you can ease my mind,’ Platt croons. ‘Help me leave these lonely thoughts behind/When they pull me under, and I can feel my sanity start to unwind. Darling, only you can ease my mind.’
‘I’ve been out since I was 12 years old to my family and anyone in my life’, Platt told People magazine. ‘I’ve never sort of hidden that or been ashamed by it. It’s just part of me.’
He added the album, with 12 songs, represents his romantic life and he’s grateful for the ‘first opportunity to represent my relationships and the men that I’ve loved’.
About this video specifically, Platt explained: ‘There was not really any moment where we had to decide it should be about me and a man as opposed to anything else because it was just, “We’re going to represent what this was inspired by,” which was this man that I was in love with. So it was really a no-brainer.’
Platt originated the role of the titular character in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. He also won a Tony award for his performance in 2017.
He’ll next be seen in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series The Politician.
Sing to Me Instead comes out on 29 March.
See also:
College footballer shares his inspiring story about coming out as gay
