10 Weird Times Actors Responded To Online Reviews
5. Ben Platt Defended His Casting Against Reviews Deeming Him "Too Old" - Dear Evan Hansen
One of the most controversial and talked-about films of recent months is Dear Evan Hansen, a big-screen adaptation of the hit 2015 stage musical of the same name.
The film sees star Ben Platt reprising the role of the titular high-schooler he originated on the stage (and won a Tony Award for).
But as soon as the film's first trailer dropped earlier in the year, many felt that the 28-year-old Platt was simply too old to convincingly play a teenage student anymore.
Prior to the film's release, Platt responded to intense online criticism from fans and critics alike that he simply didn't look young enough to play Evan, and that he was only cast due to his father Mark Platt producing the film. Platt said that he was trying to "tune it out."
As the film's release neared, however, Platt became more defensive:
"Were I not to do the movie, it probably wouldn't get made. And so, I think, my defensive response is to want to go onto Twitter and be like, 'F you, guys. You don't even know that this wouldn't exist without me.' Of course, that's not true entirely and not my place to say."
Once the film was released, the criticism reached a fever pitch, with many feeling that their concerns about Platt's inappropriate age had been proven mostly true.
Universal executives and the film's producers both expressed disappointment at the reaction, even dubbing the focus on Platt's age "cruel," though given the film's atrocious box office performance, the damage sadly seems to have been done.