Quantico’s Platt voices the “1927: The Diary of Myles Thomas” series
(L: Myles Thomas photo courtesy Baseball Hall of Fame/R: Photo courtesy of Lenny Platt)
The New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox this weekend on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell at 8 p.m. ET. Play-by-play commentator Dan Shulman will have the call with analyst Jessica Mendoza and Aaron Boone and reporter Buster Olney. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. with Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown presented by Chevrolet with host Karl Ravech, analyst Dallas Braden and insider Tim Kurkjian.
1927:The Diary of Myles Thomas continues its season-long, real-time, historical fiction retelling of the infamous New York Yankees team. In addition to the entries being available to read on Medium, the project’s creator and executive producer Douglas Alden decided to make a podcast where the stories could be heard.
Former ESPN International legal assistant Lenny Platt – who has gone on to star in ABC’s Quantico in addition to having roles in One Life To Live and How To Get Away With Murder – was selected to be the voice of Myles Thomas narrating his diary.
Front Row spoke with Platt about the project and his passion for it.
“It’s critical to these podcasts that Lenny’s such a good actor. He’s reading the work as if he were Myles reading his own diary and to pull that off Lenny has to do a lot more than just read the words on the page.
We spent a lot of time together thinking through Myles’ character. Does he talk fast or slow? Does he have a lot of emotion — like a young Al Pacino — or is he more flat — like young Clint Eastwood? How much should just be what’s on the page, and how much should Lenny try to amplify?
After a few reads, I decided not to go with a young Pacino, or a young Eastwood. We went with a young Lenny Platt. When you listen to the podcasts, it really does feel like you’re listening to Myles.”
How did you become the voice for 1927: The Diary of Myles Thomas?
Doug Alden works on the same floor that I used to work on at ESPN in New York City. When I came back to the city after finishing up filming Season One of ABC’s Quantico I got a call from an old coworker saying that Doug was working on a secret project and he needed an actor. He asked me to come in and read for Myles and the rest is history.
Explain your preparation before recording. Did you research Thomas’ story?
I met with Doug a few times to discuss the character and the world around him. There was immense research done into not just the 1927 Yankees, but also life in New York City at that time. It was full of bootleggers, gangsters, movie stars, jazz legends and corrupt politicians. Myles was on a team full of celebrities (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, etc.) so he got to experience this city in ways most could only dream about. It was a fascinating story and world to delve into.
What has been the most memorable diary entry thus far for you?
There are so many great ones. I’d have to say the first one that comes to mind was the Fire Party, but the one that affected me most was reading about A.R. Foster and his tragic fate. The man had incredible spirit and accomplished so much for black athletes in this country, but he was forgotten. It was an honor to retell his story through this project.
