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Ben Platt Receives Man of the Year Award

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony award-winning performer, Ben Platt, can now add the “Pudding Pot” to his list of accomplishments. The 26-year-old is the youngest ever recipient of the “Man of the Year Award,” which Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals has presented for 54 years.

Before Platt could receive his Pudding Pot, though, the theatricals sat him down for a light-hearted roast that every “Man of the Year” from Neil Patrick Harris to Paul Rudd is required to endure. While the performers pointed out that Platt seems to be frequently typecast as an “anxious weirdo,” the actor shook off the insult, knowing full well that his nightly onstage breakdowns in Dear Evan Hansen are precisely what won him a Tony for best actor.

Asked mid-roast if a hotdog is a sandwich, Platt argued that if the two buns of a Shake Shack burger are connected, and we call it a sandwich, then a hotdog too should be considered a sandwich.

Platt ended the hotdog discussion with a call for unity, saying, “Anybody but Trump, 2020!”

In another bit, a Hasty Pudding character named “Oscar” did not seem to have any idea who Ben Platt was.

“We’ll meet in a few years,” Platt said.

Asked later in a news conference about his aspirations in film, Platt said:

“As far as dream projects and roles, there’s a lot of filmmakers I’d love to work with–Wes Anderson, and Bo Burnham I think is really brilliant, I’d love to work with him. And roles wise, I mentioned today, I’d love to play George in Sunday in the Park With George or Bobby in Company before all is said and done for me.”

Platt says he hopes to get back to Broadway soon, though.

“I really have been hoping to get back up onstage. I’ve been missing it very much. And hopefully sometime next season, so, here’s hoping.”

Platt’s broadway availability is contingent upon his taping schedule for Netflix’s “The Politician.”