Ben Platt & Amandla Stenberg Answer The Web's Most Searched Questions

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"Dear Evan Hansen" stars Ben Platt and Amandla Stenberg take the WIRED Autocomplete Interview and answer the internet's most searched questions about themselves, the smash-hit musical, and its film adaptation. When did Ben Platt first win a Tony Award? How did Amandla Stenberg become an actress? What's Ben's vocal range? Is Amandla vegan? Ben and Amandla answer all these questions and much, much more! DEAR EVAN HANSEN is in theaters September 24

Video Transcript

BEN PLATT: Hi, I'm Ben Platt.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Hi, I'm Amandla Stenberg.

BOTH: And this is the Wired Autocomplete Interview.

[LAUGHTER]

AMANDLA STENBERG: Where, oh.

BEN PLATT: Wow. I'm gone. I can't work like this actually.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

AMANDLA STENBERG: What Ben Platt.

[LAUGHTER]

What did Ben Platt win a Tony for?

BEN PLATT: I won a Tony for this musical called "Dear Evan Hansen." I don't know if you've heard of it or if you've heard me talking about it, in the last 7 to 6 years. That's what I won my Tony for. And my whole family was there. It was a very special. Dream come true.

AMANDLA STENBERG: What is Ben Platt's phone number?

BEN PLATT: That's going to be a pass for me in terms of sharing, terms of sharing my phone number. I will say that I posted a picture of my dog, of George. And it had my family's phone number on his collar, just in case he--

AMANDLA STENBERG: Oh no.

BEN PLATT: Like ever ran away. And the story was up for like 3 minutes. And then my friend texted me and was like, do you realize that, like, you just gave your family's phone number to the world. And so I really freaked out. But thankfully everybody online listened and stop calling. So, thank you.

AMANDLA STENBERG: That's kind.

BEN PLATT: Yeah.

AMANDLA STENBERG: It's probably because you have, like, theater kids as fans. And they're pretty nice.

BEN PLATT: Yeah.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yeah.

BEN PLATT: Until you try to change a musical that they love and then they come for you.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yeah.

[LAUGHTER]

What type of dog does Ben Platt have?

BEN PLATT: Drum roll, have. I have a labradoodle and his name is George.

AMANDLA STENBERG: So cute.

BEN PLATT: Georgy Platt. I named him for George Seurat, which is a real life artist. A pointillist artist. But also the main character of my favorite musical, "Sunday in the Park with George." And I have a big poster in my house of "Sunday in the Park with George." I named him that a, because it's my favorite musical and b, because when he was a puppy he had these little dots on his nose. And so, that's why he's George. But they're gone now because he's a big boy.

AMANDLA STENBERG: What song does Ben Platt sing in "The Politician." Oh, season 2.

BEN PLATT: That was the twist. The twist of season 2. Well, in season 1, I sang "River" by Joni Mitchell. And I song from "Assassins," which is a musical that Stephen Sondheim wrote. And I sang oh, Zoey Deutch. Hi, Zoey.

Season 2. Oh, season 2, I sang "Corner of the Sky" from "Pippin," which is another fave musical. And it was also my senior high school role in "My High School Musical," which was "Pippin." And I played Pippin. So very full circle. And I got to sing my song, "Runaway," from my first album, "Sing To Me Instead," on "The Politician" as well because it was free to use. And--

AMANDLA STENBERG: And it's a good song.

BEN PLATT: Thanks. Hey, thanks. Maybe someday someone let me sing for my second album, "Reverie," which you can get now. Throw that thing the F out of here.

How Amandla Stenberg--

AMANDLA STENBERG: How Amandla Stenberg--

BEN PLATT: How is Amandla Stenberg?

AMANDLA STENBERG: I love that that's one of the first questions.

BEN PLATT: How is-- people want to know how you are.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Amandla Stenberg's pretty great.

BEN PLATT: Yeah.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I would say. Yeah. Living in New York City. I have a home for the first time in many years.

BEN PLATT: Mazel tov.

AMANDLA STENBERG: After bouncing around. Just came back from Copenhagen visiting my dad.

BEN PLATT: Fab.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I'm doing-- I'm doing pretty good, guys.

BEN PLATT: How nice is that to hear. How did Amandla Stenberg become an actress.

AMANDLA STENBERG: How did I become an actress? I started acting when I was about 3 or 4 because I wanted to be in commercials.

BEN PLATT: Pretty late in the game.

AMANDLA STENBERG: On TV. Late in the game. Yeah. And then the first movie role that I booked was when I was 11. Or no, 8, 9. Wait, I just jumped around so much. I was-- I was 9. I was 9. And I played the younger version of Zoe Saldana as an assassin.

BEN PLATT: Oh. Wow. So pretty cool from the get-go. How old was Amandla Stenberg in the Hunger Games.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I was 12.

BEN PLATT: Wow.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Mm-hmm.

BEN PLATT: I remember you.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I played Rue in the Hunger Games.

BEN PLATT: Duh.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Baby Rue.

BEN PLATT: Has anyone not seen Hunger Games?

AMANDLA STENBERG: I was such a huge fan that I wouldn't leave the casting people alone. Because I heard they were making a movie. And so, I think I would call like every single day. And I got an audition. I remember, I got a callback. And the casting director, Debra Zane, she really, like, was rooting for me. So I'm perpetually grateful to her.

BEN PLATT: That's amazing.

AMANDLA STENBERG: But she told me, OK, when you come back for the callback, make sure that you are dressed in character. Because she knew this would kind of, like, help me really prove to them like what I would be like in the world of film. And so, I fully dressed up. I think I had like a little cargo pants on, and you know. The utilitarian vibe.

BEN PLATT: OK. You're going for it.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Going for it. Running it. And I remember rolling around in the backyard before I went. So I was covered in mud. And then when I arrived it was at Gary Ross' house. And he had, like, all like cream, suede furniture.

BEN PLATT: Oh no.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I remember just like shuffling through his living room. You know, like, with all the other actresses there and everything. I think, eventually, I like grabbed a stool from outside. And just like sat in the corner because I was really nervous I was going to ruin his couch.

BEN PLATT: But instead you booked it.

AMANDLA STENBERG: But I got the job, baby.

BEN PLATT: Because she went all in, you guys. Show up covered in dirt for your next audition.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Exactly. Follow your dreams.

BEN PLATT: Covered. How tall is Amandla Stenberg in feet.

AMANDLA STENBERG: In feet. To be specific. I guess that means, like, only Americans are curious about how tall I am.

BEN PLATT: Yeah. Nobody else cares.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Right. Well Americans, I'm 5 feet tall and 3 inches. Which is a 1/4 of a foot. Is Ben Platt the astronaut on "The Masked Singer."

BEN PLATT: No, sadly. I'm not the astronaut on "The Masked Singer." Nor have I ever seen or been on "The Masked Singer." But no shade to "The Masked Singer."

AMANDLA STENBERG: You should go on "The Masked Singer."

BEN PLATT: I think I'm good.

[LAUGHTER]

I like to sing with my face showing. If I were to go on "The Masked Singer," I would probably just do it in drag. So--

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yeah. Is Ben Platt the baby in "Father of the Bride 2."

BEN PLATT: Yes. Yes.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Wait, you are?

BEN PLATT: Well I wasn't in, actually, in "Father of the Bride 2." But we did a little "Father of the Bride 3," like, short film that Nancy Meyers made during the pandemic. And Florence Pugh and I played the babies grown up. So technically, yes. I am the baby in "Father of the Bride 2." So--

AMANDLA STENBERG: Is Ben Platt on cameo.

BEN PLATT: I am not on cameo, sadly. However, if you want to chill or meet, you can come to see my concert. And I can see you from the audience slash you can sign up to do a meet and greet. And we can meet that way. So--

AMANDLA STENBERG: What the heck is a cameo?

BEN PLATT: It's like a website where people can pay you to, like, make them video messages. Like, I got an offer for like-- I don't even know what the occasion, maybe was birthday-- for, I got her Megan Stelter, like, talking to him in a costume via cameo. Hi Meg Stelter. You're the best.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Oh my gosh.

BEN PLATT: There's a lot of fun people on there.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Wow. Is Ben Platt a Libra? I actually don't know your sign.

BEN PLATT: I am a Libra. I'm just past the cusp but, I am I'm a Libra. I'm very, like, very much the mediator. Very much like middle of the road.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I feel that.

BEN PLATT: Even keeled. Thank you.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yeah. I'm a Libra Scorpio.

BEN PLATT: Oh.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I'm right on the cusp.

BEN PLATT: Wait. When's your birthday?

AMANDLA STENBERG: October 23rd.

BEN PLATT: Mm.

AMANDLA STENBERG: So, I feel the Libra synergy between us.

BEN PLATT: So do I.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I'm definitely, probably a little crazier than you.

BEN PLATT: I'll let you have that.

[LAUGHTER]

Whereas I'm more neurotic.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Right. Is Ben Platt nice?

BEN PLATT: No.

AMANDLA STENBERG: So mean.

BEN PLATT: Really cruel.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Look at this face. Such a mean girl face.

BEN PLATT: Gr. See. Amandla Stenberg, just in general.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yeah, what's up with--

BEN PLATT: Why was Amandla Stenberg name Amandla?

AMANDLA STENBERG: Wow. I was named Amandla because Amandla, or how it's actually pronounced, Ah-mand-la

BEN PLATT: Ah-mand-la.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Amandla means "power" in Zulu and Hausa. And during apartheid in South African, and it was a very popular rallying cry. "Amandla awaits you," which means, "power to the people."

BEN PLATT: Amazing.

AMANDLA STENBERG: And my mom was like, I'm going to give my baby a name that means something.

BEN PLATT: I love it.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Mm-hmm.

BEN PLATT: You're the only Amandla that I know. Why is Amandla Stenberg a role model.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I don't know. Why--

BEN PLATT: She's unique, queer, talented, confident, gorgeous, never before seen, unlike anything you've ever seen in your life, whatever that Lady Gaga--

AMANDLA STENBERG: Chew it up, put it in a blender, spit it out.

[LAUGHTER]

BEN PLATT: Is Amandla Stenberg vegan?

AMANDLA STENBERG: No. I love that that's, like, a question that people have. Never in my life could I be vegan.

BEN PLATT: You love meat.

AMANDLA STENBERG: It's not even that I love meat. I don't have the maturity, in terms of my eating habits, to ensure I would be getting all the nutrients and vitamins that I would need, if I was vegan.

BEN PLATT: Absolutely. Absolutely. Also, I love burgers. Amandla Stenberg fun facts. Don't you just have like 10 fun facts about yourself ready to go, at all times.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Fun fact. Fun fact. When I was younger, I used to voice over people's voices and movies. Because I like, I was good at watching the ADR on the screen, and figuring out the rhythm of how people were speaking, and then replicating it.

BEN PLATT: Do you know like if-- if I went back and like watched one of them, where I would find your voice?

AMANDLA STENBERG: "Why Did I Get Married Too."

BEN PLATT: Guys.

AMANDLA STENBERG: But I always felt kind of bad because I was like, damn some actress is going to go see the movie, and it's going to be my voice.

BEN PLATT: Well if it's good ADR, they probably can't tell. But does that-- does that also mean--

AMANDLA STENBERG: I think the actor could probably tell.

BEN PLATT: Does that mean you could also win a lip sync for your life, you think?

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yes.

BEN PLATT: OK cool.

AMANDLA STENBERG: It's actually my dream to lip sync for my life.

BEN PLATT: Mine too. Amandla Stenberg violin.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Violin. Yes. I play the violin.

BEN PLATT: What? I don't think I knew that.

AMANDLA STENBERG: You didn't know that?

BEN PLATT: That's sick.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yeah. I play the violin. I used to be a part of a folk band. Embarrassing.

BEN PLATT: Oh, that I did know.

AMANDLA STENBERG: And I still play the violin, but now I don't play folk music. I kind of play random, weird, I don't know, punky-ish sort of stuff.

BEN PLATT: So you're going to play at the premiere? You're going to do a performance.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Never in my life would do that.

[LAUGHTER]

How high can Ben Platt sing?

BEN PLATT: Wow.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Do you know the note you can sing to? You must, right.

BEN PLATT: Well I don't know how high I can sing, like, period. I would say, like, in a chest voice, which means like full-voice belted. On a great day, I can sing like a C or C sharp. But on like a, any given day, probably like B-flat. So--

AMANDLA STENBERG: Thank you.

BEN PLATT: So, for anyone that cares to know that.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Giving us that half step, D2. Where, oh.

BEN PLATT: Wow. I'm gone. I can't work like this, actually.

AMANDLA STENBERG: So sorry. I'm sorry. That was so embarrassing.

BEN PLATT: That's actually really painful cardboard, so. The edges are really sharp.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Where did Ben Platt go to summer camp?

BEN PLATT: Wow. I went to Camp Harmon California in Ohio, which is a Jewish summer camp. Which is basically like a regular summer camp except like you wear kippahs, which is like the little Jewish hats. And you, like, do prayers sometimes. But the highlight of my camp experience was color wars, which is where the whole camp is divided into 4 teams of, like, 100 kids each. And then you fight in like sports competitions. But more importantly, in giant cheers and skits. And so, when I was the captain of the red team--

AMANDLA STENBERG: That's the priority.

BEN PLATT: We had gorgeous productions for every one of our cheers. And we did win, so.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Why did Ben Platt leave "Dear Evan Hansen."

BEN PLATT: Well, I had been working on the show for like 3, 4 years. I did all the readings, all the workshops. I did the Washington, D.C. production, the off-broadway second stage production, and then I did the Broadway production for a year. And it was wonderful, fulfilling, beautiful experience but very taxing physically, emotionally, mentally, all that stuff. And just not super sustainable to continue to do 8 times a week, longer than that. So I really wanted to leave while I still was standing. And was still being-- able to give a full performance. And before I know where to myself out to hard. But then I got to come back and do the movie. Very lucky.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Yes, you did. Can I lean on you, Ben Platt.

BEN PLATT: Yeah. You can. Any time.

BOTH: (Singing) Sometimes in your life, we all have days.

[LAUGHTER]

AMANDLA STENBERG: OK. How are we going with it?

[BLOWING]

BEN PLATT: The most important card of all. "Dear Evan Hansen"

AMANDLA STENBERG: (Singing) "Dear Evan Hansen"

BEN PLATT: (Singing) We've been way too out of touch.

OK Is "Dear Evan Hansen" a musical? What do you think?

AMANDLA STENBERG: No.

[LAUGHTER]

BEN PLATT: Hardcore. A lot of songs, great songs. Pasek and Paul songs. And 1, Pasek and Paul Stenberg song. Is "Dear Evan Hansen" fiction or non-fiction?

AMANDLA STENBERG: I feel like there are many non-fiction elements of it.

BEN PLATT: Totally. There's a lot off--

AMANDLA STENBERG: And yes, it's a fictional story.

BEN PLATT: It is. It is totally fictional, in terms of the story, but inspired by a lot of contemporary truths that are non-fiction. But, fiction. There's no Evan Hansen except for the character. Who wrote "Dear Evan Hansen" music? Pasek and Paul wrote it. Brilliant songwriters who also wrote the musical "Dogfight," the songs in "La La Land", "Greatest Showman." And then there's one new song that Amandla wrote with them.

AMANDLA STENBERG: You go to stop liking this.

BEN PLATT: So cool. It's cool! What is the message of "Dear Evan "Hansen?"

AMANDLA STENBERG: There's a lot of messages. Well I think there's a different messages for different people.

BEN PLATT: What's your fave message?

AMANDLA STENBERG: My favorite message is that contending with mental health is a universal experience. And something that so many more of us, than you would maybe assume, are dealing with and going through. And, it's OK to not be OK. Your value as a human being, regardless of if you're at a high-high or at a low-low. And you are deserving of love.

BEN PLATT: That's beautiful. And I agree. What did the "Dear Evan Hansen" letter say? Well there's several letters throughout the film.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Right.

BEN PLATT: But the kind of hero letter is dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day and here's why. Because all you have to do is just be yourself. And usually it ends with sincerely me. Which is also the name of one of the

AMANDLA STENBERG: Mm-hmm.

BEN PLATT: In the movie. I feel like I learned a lot about you. I learned what Amandla means.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Mm-hmm.

BEN PLATT: I learned that you play violin.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I learned that you were the baby in--

BEN PLATT: Oh, uh, "Father of the Bride"

AMANDLA STENBERG: In "Father of the Bride". Oh, no, but you did that with Florence Pugh.

BEN PLATT: Mm-hmm.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Got to check that out.

BEN PLATT: Yeah, huh.

AMANDLA STENBERG: I think I actually knew a lot of other stuff about you.

BOTH: Thanks so much, Wired.

AMANDLA STENBERG: Mwah.

[MUSIC PLAYING]