Ben Levi Ross

Benjamin Levi Ross[1] (born January 15, 1998)[2] is an American stage actor and singer. He[lower-alpha 1] is best known for his work in the Tony Award winning musical Dear Evan Hansen, where he was an understudy for the roles of Evan, Connor and Jared on Broadway and Evan in the national tour.

Ben Levi Ross
Born (1998-01-15) January 15, 1998
Alma materCarnegie Mellon University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active2017–present

Early life and education

Ross was born to a Jewish family on January 15, 1998, and grew up in Santa Monica, California.[2][3] He attended Santa Monica High School, where he was active in his school's theater program. In 2016, he was named a Presidential Scholar of the Arts as part of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.[4][5] He was also a grand prize finalist for the 2016 Music Center Spotlight awards.[6][7] Following high school, he attended Carnegie Mellon University for a year and a half.[8]

Career

At an audition for the play The Low Road at New York's Public Theater, Ross was noticed by Dear Evan Hansen director Michael Greif, who told Ross that he would be great as an understudy in the cast of Dear Evan Hansen. Soon after, he joined Dear Evan Hansen's cast, and made his Broadway debut as the character Jared. Ross then spent ten months understudying for the roles of Evan, Connor, and Jared.[8][9] In 2018, he left the Broadway company and joined the first national tour of the show in the titular role.[10][11] He left the production on September 15, 2019.[12] From January 29 to February 3, 2020, Ross starred as Henry in the Kennedy Center's production of Next to Normal.[13] In 2021, Ross appeared in the film Tick, Tick... Boom! as Freddy.[14]

Personal life

Ross is gay and non-binary, using they/them and he/him pronouns.[15][16]

Film credits
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2021 Tick, Tick... Boom! Freddy

Theater credits
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2017–18 Dear Evan Hansen Jared, Connor, Evan (understudy) Music Box Theater [8]
2018–19 Evan National tour [9][10]
2020 Next to Normal Henry Limited run at the Kennedy Center [13]
2022 Dear Evan Hansen Evan Limited 8-week engagement at the Music Box Theater [17]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Show Result Ref.
2019 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards Best Leading Actor in a Musical - Tour Dear Evan Hansen Won [18]
BroadwayWorld Washington D.C. Awards Best Actor in a Musical - Large Professional Theatre Won [19]
2020 Eliot Norton Awards Outstanding Visiting Musical Performance Won [20][21]

See also

Notes
  1. Ross uses he/him and they/them pronouns. This article uses masculine pronouns for consistency.

References
  1. "The Samohi » Benjamin Ross". Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  2. "ben levi ross on Instagram: "A slappy sleepy happy 20 year old, thank u all for the lovely wishes and posts. I don't believe in age, but 20 feels good so far."". Instagram. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  3. "ben levi ross on Instagram: "three generations of Jewish Ross women's jewelry around my neck and romie"". Instagram. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  4. "Samohi's Ben Ross Candidate in Presidential Scholars Race". SM Mirror. February 24, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  5. "2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2021.
  6. Wild, Stephi. "Meet DEAR EVAN HANSEN's Touring Evan, Ben Levi Ross!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  7. "14 Southern California Teens Named Grand Prize Finalists in The Music Center's Spotlight Program". At This Stage. May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  8. "Ben Levi Ross: from Carnegie Mellon to Broadway to 'Dear Evan Hansen' tour star". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  9. Clawson, Kerry. "Ben Levi Ross tackles title role in Cleveland-bound 'Dear Evan Hansen'". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  10. Floyd, Thomas (July 31, 2019). "'Dear Evan Hansen' tests star Ben Levi Ross like he's never been tested before". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019.
  11. "For the Evan in Tampa's 'Dear Evan Hansen,' a demanding role comes with love and anxiety". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  12. "ben levi ross on Instagram: "I am truly grateful for every single person from my family, to my friends, to the cast, to the team, to my boyfriend, to the band, to the…"". Instagram. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  13. "Broadway Center Stage: Next to Normal". www.kennedy-center.org. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  14. "Tick, Tick… Boom! Cast, Real Life Character & Broadway Cameos Guide". ScreenRant. November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  15. "ben levi ross (@benlross)". Instagram. Archived from the original on February 26, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  16. Ross, Ben Levi [@benlross] (April 1, 2020). "A reminder that: BOTH of these people (me) are non-binary. Gender presentation is very complex. #transdayofvisibility". Retrieved November 18, 2020 – via Instagram.
  17. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Ben Levi Ross Returns to DEAR EVAN HANSEN Beginning Tomorrow For Eight Weeks Only". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  18. "Winners Announced For 2019 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards". BroadwayWorld.com.
  19. "Winners Announced For 2019 BroadwayWorld Washington, DC Awards". BroadwayWorld.com.
  20. Gantz, Jeffrey (May 11, 2020). "'Parade,' 'The Stone' each grab three Elliot Norton awards in a virtual ceremony". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  21. "Elliot Norton Awards". Elliotnortonawards. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
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