Ben Platt. Winner of the Tony Award. Perfectionist of the art to snot-crying on stage. Songwriter of catchy Yom Kippur jingles. Acapella magician on film. Political mover and shaker on television. So old that one Twitter user said he looked like he's the principal in the new Dear Evan Hansen trailer.

Yes, Ben Platt, now twenty-seven, will be reprising his role of Evan Hansen in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Stephen Chbosky will direct the film, and whose star-studded cast includes Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, and Kaitlyn Dever. However, while some might welcome Platt's return, others are unhappy about how he is way older than his character.

Following the Dear Evan Hansen trailer launching, Platt went on Twitter and wrote out a since-deleted tweet in which he first thanked people for the outpouring of love that the trailer received. Then, writing that the film required him to revisit some personal pain, seeing people excited and moved made it all worth it. He also directed anyone upset over his age to watch Grease.

Indeed, the 1978 cult classic Grease is one of the most egregious cases of high schoolers well beyond high school age. For a frame of reference, John Travolta was twenty-three, and Olivia Newton-John turned twenty-nine during filming. So why does this continue to be a practice, even though it's often painfully obvious that it's not a teenager onscreen?

One of the reasons could be that certain films' subject matter would be a little gross if it involved actual teenagers. For instance, can you imagine Wild Things where Denise Richards and Neve Campbell were their characters' age? Another reason is that it gets determined that the most important thing is talent over how old they are, which Chbosky said about Platt.

"You just have to hear him sing the songs," said Chbosky, whose previous credits include The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder. "His understanding of the character is so complete and so profound. I couldn't imagine anybody else playing it. It's his part. I felt very strongly about it. And to me it was never even a consideration."

In his deleted tweet, Platt also directed people to a Vanity Fair article titled "Dear Evan Hansen Trailer: Ben Platt on Going Back to High School, One Last Time." There he acknowledges the fact that he's since gotten older than when he first played the character on Broadway. However, even he was pleasantly surprised by how determined Universal was to keep him in the role.

"The need to get it done was a little urgent. Then of course the pandemic happened, and I kind of assumed that was that--it would be a no-go, and by the time the pandemic was over, I'd have outgrown it." Said Platt to Vanity Fair.

He also told the magazine that hopefully, this would be the last time he'll have to strip himself into being a teenager. No more dieting, growing his hair out, and constantly shaving to make sure that it didn't look like he had a five o'clock shadow all the time. Which should please any "randos being jerks about age." This news comes courtesy of Variety, Vanity Fair, and Insider.