Ben Platt has described his upcoming Netflix series as a “really delicious and biting, black political comedy and social satire”.
The singer and actor will star as the lead in The Politician, which is the debut Netflix series from American Horror Story and Glee creator Ryan Murphy.
The 25-year-old will play a politically motivated high school student, alongside a cast including names like Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow and Bob Balaban.
He told PA: “It’s an absolute dream to work with Ryan Murphy, he’s a creative genius and his faith in me and his belief in my abilities and his sort of, gifting me with this incredible showcase, has really meant so much to me.
“The cast is a really bonkers group of people, it’s an extraordinarily talented bunch. I think the show is a really delicious and biting, and very sort of black political comedy and social satire, it’s very aspirational, (the) kind of aesthetic true to Ryan. I think it’s just a great world to spend time in and I think people will really love it.”
He also praised streaming giant Netflix for the degree of creative freedom awarded to them on the series, which is due for release in September.
He said of the appeal of a Netflix project: “I think partly because they grant a lot of a creative freedom, particularly to someone like Ryan who they trust implicitly. They really sort of gave us all the tools logistically and financially to really make whatever show we wanted to make and let Ryan kind of do his thing, instead of being too limiting.
“I think with network television that’s something I’ve always been afraid of and so to get to have my first major television experience being in that creatively free environment was very attractive too.”
Platt – who has to-date won a Tony, Daytime Emmy and Grammy for his role in the Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen – has also released his debut solo album, titled Sing To Me Instead.
He said: “I think the album is an amalgam of a lot of different relationships and romantic experiences I’ve had combined into this one – ups and downs, highs and lows – journey of this relationship that gives the singer who, for all intents and purposes is me, a greater understanding, a greater perspective on himself and also the world around him.
“So that by the end of the album he’s able to sing about things that are a bit loftier and headier than just his relationships, like family and time and mortality and sort of the bigger questions.”
During a recent visit to London, he spoke to students at the Cambridge Union which he said was “great but slightly intimidating”.
He explained: “Because it’s a very hallowed place and everybody was very intelligent, but it was really fun and the kids were lovely and sweet and asked very insightful questions.”
Sing To Me Instead is out now.