Audiences are about to see Ben Platt like they haven’t seen him before, as Hoda Kotb put it during her September 25 interview with Platt on the Today Show.

Platt stars in Netflix’s The Politician, streaming September 27, as Payton Hobart—and it’s a character Platt says is unlike those we’ve seen from his repertoire to this point. “He's a lot more aggressive, assertive, self-serving than the guys I've gotten to play so far,” said Platt in the interview below.

The freshness of the role is what appealed to Platt. “Obviously, I was in because it's Ryan Murphy, and he's absolutely brilliant, and I loved Glee growing up, and I love [American] Horror Story and all of his pieces,” said Platt, “but [Ryan] really led with the fact that it was gonna be a departure character-wise and somebody that really took up space in a room. And, after playing Evan Hansen and doing Book of Mormon, I played a lot of characters who really wanted to melt into the furniture that they were sitting on, so to play someone who wants to be seen and is confidant and somewhat ego-maniacal is really fun.”

Platt can’t wait for audiences to dive into another series in Murphy’s empire. “The liberal, very social, somewhat Utopian world that he portrays is something I'm really proud to be part of, a world where the queerness of the characters and the gender of the characters is just part of the tapestry, and it's kind of an assumed reality, and it doesn't need to be the focus of plot—I think [it] is a really forward-thinking, really beautiful thing,” Platt said. “And, it discusses this thing that we're all grappling with: How authentic can we be? And how can we put our most authentic foot forward when we want to curate our image and how we want to be perceived to achieve what we're trying to achieve.”

After winning a Tony Award for the title role in Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen, Platt signed with Atlantic Records to create his debut solo album, Sing to Me Instead. He spent much of 2019 on a concert tour and will hit the stage of Radio City Music Hall September 29 for a concert of that debut album. “For me it's this very sacred space,” Platt said of the famed New York City venue, “so to get to [perform] with my own music and my own stories is gonna be really really special.” The concert will also be filmed for a Netflix special.

During Today’s third hour, Platt sang “Run Away” from Sing to Me Instead. Watch his performance below: