“Gas him TF Up“: Ben Platt’s twunk era is here—and it’s real apparently.
There are many ways to announce a new era. Some celebrities drop a single. Others debut a haircut. Ben Platt chose a sleeveless gym shirt, a well-earned bicep flex, and a husband who understood the assignment perfectly. Enter: the twink-to-twunk transition heard ’round Gay Twitter.
Platt—who stars in Ryan Murphy’s glossy, unsettling sci-fi horror series The Beauty—has been quietly drawing attention for weeks, but his husband Noah Galvin made it loud, proud, and shirtless. Galvin tagged Platt in an Instagram Story showing him mid-gym moment, smiling, flexing, and clearly aware of what he was doing. The caption? “Gas him tf up.” Translation: Ben Platt is hot and he’s mine.
The photo screamed confidence, strength, and a very specific kind of glow-up—the kind that feels both personal and professionally petty in the best way. Twink? Been there. Twunk? Clocked in. And somehow, the timing couldn’t be more perfect, because The Beauty is literally about bodies, desirability, and the dangerous promise of physical perfection.
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The Glow-Up Is Plot-Approved
In The Beauty, Platt plays Manny—the “before” version of his character, prior to being infected with a fictional STD that transforms people into their physically ideal selves. Yes, it’s absurd. Yes, it’s intentionally provocative. And yes, once Manny “evolves,” he turns into Isaac Powell. Which has left fans spiraling just a little.
@fxnetworks This doesn’t end well. #BenPlatt #EvanPeters #TheBeauty
Some reactions online were immediate and unfiltered:
“Ben Platt is absolutely beautiful. Why did he change into a whole new person after getting The Beauty? He is the Beauty.”
Another added,
“I’d devour this man and that was before he was in the gym.”
Others were… pettier:
“If someone made me play the ugly version on The Beauty, I’d get ripped immediately too.”
And perhaps the most internet-coded response of all:
“being cast as the before not the after on that show…”
Honestly? Fair. If the narrative says you’re the before, the gym becomes a personality trait.
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From Broadway Baby to Sci-Fi Body Horror
What makes this era especially delicious is how sharply it contrasts with Platt’s long-standing image as a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner best known for emotionally wrecking audiences in Dear Evan Hansen and The Politician. Now, he’s flexing for Instagram and starring in a series that interrogates beauty standards by literally weaponizing them.
And he’s not slowing down. Platt is also set to star in the UK premiere of Mark Sonnenblick’s Midnight at The Never Get, playing a limited run this summer at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, directed by David Cromer. Platt called it his first wholly original musical since Dear Evan Hansen, which—combined with his current gym era—feels like a full-spectrum artistic glow-up.
Beauty, Bodies, and Being Watched
The Beauty premiered on January 21, 2026, and continues weekly on FX, with streaming on Hulu. New episodes drop Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, layering conspiracy, desire, and consequence with every release.
@thebeautyfx It’s called looking out for your bestie.
So yes, Ben Platt is hotter. Yes, the arms are arming. But the real flex? Owning every version of yourself—the “before,” the “after,” and the one smiling into a gym mirror while your husband hypes you up for the whole internet to see.