NEED TO KNOW
- Ben Levi Ross plays Teddy, the son of Carrie Preston’s Elsbeth Tascioni, in the CBS comedy-drama
- The actor tells PEOPLE at the Ragtime opening night what it’s like to work with the Emmy-winning actress and what they have learned from her
- Elsbeth airs Thursdays on CBS at 10 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. CT and streams on Paramount+
Carrie Preston leads by example for her Elsbeth costar Ben Levi Ross.
At the opening night of their latest Broadway musical Ragtime, Ross, 27 — who stars as Teddy Tascioni, the son of Preston’s titular character — gives PEOPLE an insight into what it’s like working with the Emmy-winning actress, 58. The actor (who uses they/he pronouns) called the Elsbeth leading lady one of their “favorite people ever” and a “comedic genius.”
“She’s such a master at what she does,” Ross says. “I want Elsbeth to go on forever, but I’m so ready for Carrie’s dramatic arc as a movie star, because she can truly do anything.”
In their first television role ever, the Dear Evan Hansen alum says that observing Preston has taught them “how to be a good person on set.”
“You can get in your head about being one-track-minded. Just do your job, get in, get out,” Ross explains. “But she’s so kind to everyone. She treats everyone with so much respect, and so that’s what I’ve learned from her.”
While filming season 3 of Elsbeth, in which they reprises their recurring role from season 2, Ross went back and forth between the set of the comedy series and rehearsals for Ragtime.
Despite the hectic schedule, the actor is “never going to forget” this “cuckoo crazy” season of their life.
“I was shooting in Harlem on Monday on a day off, and then slept for six hours and then woke up and came to preview rehearsal the next day,” Ross says.
Ross has gushed about their on-screen mom throughout the press run for the series, telling TV Insider in December 2024 that “she is so incredibly alive and warm and welcoming to every new cast member.”
Preston and Ross’ bond has grown to the point where the two have nicknames for each other. Ross revealed that she calls them “Teddy Ben,” while he refers to her as “Mama Care.”
“My favorite thing about her being my on-screen mom is that we are now best friends off-screen as well,” Ross told Decider earlier in October.
Elsbeth airs Thursdays on CBS at 10 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. CT and streams on Paramount+.
