Ben Levi Ross was nominated for a Tony this year, but what made him most proud was knowing his parents got to watch him perform at the ceremony. His role as Mother’s Younger Brother in the 2025 Broadway revival of Ragtime earned him much critical acclaim, including a Drama Desk Award — and it also placed him live on the Tonys stage performing the Ragtime “Prologue” with the show’s cast for millions of viewers at home. “High-octane, big feelings, quiet part out loud,” is how he describes the feeling of being on stage. And that’s just the way he likes it.
“I have generalized anxiety disorder, which is a clinical way of saying that my body occasionally treats an empty room the same way it treats a burning one,” Ross says. “So I overcame it by working in professional musical theater.”
Known for playing the titular role in Dear Evan Hansen, Ross is no stranger to the small screen, either, currently starring on the CBS show Elsbeth with a role lined up in Netflix’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets. Want to overcome your own obstacles? Then “don’t pay those bitches any mind,” he advises. @benlross
