Ben Levi Ross

Benjamin Levi Ross (born January 15, 1998)[1] is an American stage actor. He is best known for his work in the Tony Award winning musical Dear Evan Hansen.

Ben Levi Ross
Born
Benjamin Levi Ross

(1998-01-15) January 15, 1998
Santa Monica, California
EducationCarnegie Mellon University (did not graduate)
OccupationActor
Years active2017-present
Partner(s)Taylor Trensch (2017-present)

Early life and education

Ross was born to a Jewish family on January 15, 1998 and grew up in Santa Monica, California.[2][1] 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.[3][4] He was also a grand prize finalist for the 2016 Music Center Spotlight awards.[5][6] Following high school, he attended Carnegie Mellon University for a year and a half.[7]

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.[7][8] In 2018, he left the Broadway company and joined the first national tour of the show in the titular role.[9][10] He left the production on September 15, 2019.[11] From January 29 to February 3, 2020, Ross starred as Henry in the Kennedy Center's production of Next to Normal.[12]

Personal life

Ross is openly gay and identifies as non-binary, using he/him/they/them pronouns.[13][14] He has been in a relationship with Taylor Trensch, another former Dear Evan Hansen actor, since December 2017.[15]

Theater credits
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2017-18 Dear Evan Hansen Jared, Connor, Evan (understudy) Music Box Theater [7]
2018-19 Dear Evan Hansen Evan National Tour [9][8]
2020 Next to Normal Henry Limited run at the Kennedy Center [12]

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 [16]
2019 BroadwayWorld Washington D.C. Awards Best Actor in a Musical - Large Professional Theatre Dear Evan Hansen Won [17]
2020 Eliot Norton Awards Outstanding Visiting Musical Performance Dear Evan Hansen Won [18][19]
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gollark: Personally, such drugs seem annoying to get, and I don't really see the attraction, so meh.
gollark: I'm not sure I've actually ever heard anyone use that acronym in any case.
gollark: Nope.
gollark: This inspired me to look at the server's search results for LSD, and there are surprisingly many of them?

References
  1. "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 2020-04-17.
  2. "ben levi ross on Instagram: "three generations of Jewish Ross women's jewelry around my neck and romie"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  3. "Samohi's Ben Ross Candidate in Presidential Scholars Race:". SM Mirror. 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  4. "2016 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts" (PDF).
  5. Wild, Stephi. "Meet DEAR EVAN HANSEN's Touring Evan, Ben Levi Ross!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  6. "14 Southern California Teens Named Grand Prize Finalists in The Music Center's Spotlight Program". At This Stage. 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  7. "Ben Levi Ross: from Carnegie Mellon to Broadway to 'Dear Evan Hansen' tour star". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  8. Clawson, Kerry. "Ben Levi Ross tackles title role in Cleveland-bound 'Dear Evan Hansen'". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  9. Floyd, Thomas (July 31, 2019). "'Dear Evan Hansen' tests star Ben Levi Ross like he's never been tested before".
  10. "For the Evan in Tampa's 'Dear Evan Hansen,' a demanding role comes with love and anxiety". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  11. "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 2020-04-17.
  12. "Broadway Center Stage: Next to Normal". www.kennedy-center.org. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  13. "ben levi ross (@benlross) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  14. "ben levi ross's Instagram photo: "A reminder that: BOTH of these people (me) are non-binary. Gender presentation is very complex. #transdayofvisibility"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  15. "ben levi ross on Instagram: "2 years ........ 💓"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  16. https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Winners-Announced-For-2019-BroadwayWorld-Los-Angeles-Awards-20200108
  17. https://www.broadwayworld.com/washington-dc/article/Winners-Announced-For-2019-BroadwayWorld-Washington-DC-Awards-20200117
  18. Gantz, Jeffrey (11 May 2020). "'Parade,' 'The Stone' each grab three Elliot Norton awards in a virtual ceremony". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  19. "Elliot Norton Awards". elliotnortonawards. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
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