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Ben Platt Felt 'Coaxed' Into Coming Out As Gay When He Was A Teenager
The actor’s coming-out is actually very similar to the premise of his latest film, Theater Camp.
In the new comedy Theater Camp, Amos (Ben Platt) and Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) are BFFs who met when they were much younger while attending theater camp. As the premise of their friendship goes, Rebecca-Diane had a crush on Amos, who turned out to be gay. After coming out to her as a teenager, Rebecca-Diane had to get over her heartbreak and evolve her feelings about Amos in order to maintain their close friendship.
Well, it turns out that Platt’s actual coming-out story is very similar to what his character experiences in Theater Camp! During an interview with Rolling Stone, the actor talked about how his real friendship with Gordon went through the same process when they were younger.
“We were doing How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and we were like, 12 or 13,” Platt recalled. “[Gordon] was like, ‘Who do you like? You have to like someone in the show.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m gay,’”
He continued, “She was like, ‘Oh,’ and then just kind of ran to everybody in our show, who most of them probably already assumed or knew. And then from that point forward, we just moved on as friends. But she kind of coaxed it out of me.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Platt clarified that Gordon certainly had romantic feelings for him when they were teenagers. “She definitely had a crush on me, she will admit. And I thought I did too,” he told the publication. “But ultimately, I was very gay, unfortunately. And also fortunately. Molly had to have an adjustment period of getting over that, which began with her telling everybody that I was gay. And then we moved forward as friends.”
Theater Camp, which is currently out in theaters, features a cast that also includes Noah Galvin (Glenn), Jimmy Tatro (Troy), Ayo Edebiri (Janet), Patti Harrison (Caroline), and Nathan Lee Graham (Clive), among others.
Besides being costars in this new movie, Platt and Galvin have been longtime friends and started dating in 2020. Then, in November 2022, they announced that they had gotten engaged.
Everything is now straightened out (pun intended), but it’s still pretty funny to know that this is how the friendship between Platt and Gordon started out!
Theater Camp is now in theaters.
Bernardo Sim is a writer, editor, and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is a writer, editor, and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
