Jonathan Bennett on 'Mean Girls' Broadway Musical: 'I Hope They Make Fun of Me a Lot'

The actor who played hunk Aaron Samuels helped launch a fundraiser to celebrate 'Mean Girls' Day and support Las Vegas victims.

Thirteen years after Mean Girls' release, the film is just as fetch as it was when The Plastics first debuted their sexy Santa dance. In its wake, the world can depend on the unofficial holiday Mean Girls Day every year on Oct. 3 (a result of the unforgettable scene where Aaron Samuels -- played by Jonathan Bennett -- asks Cady Heron -- played by Lindsay Lohan -- what day it is and she responds with the erroneous date). 

The result has been 13 years of inside jokes cultivated by the teen comedy. Every year, Bennett does something special to commemorate the day he asked Cady about Oct. 3 and this year he celebrated in Manhattan, as Tina Fey handed out cheese fries from a food truck to do the same. It's pretty perfect timing considering Mean Girls, the musical will make its debut on October 31.

In honor of 'Mean Girls' Day, Bennett spoke with Billboard on his favorite Mean Girls moments, the upcoming musical and using this year's Mean Girls Day for a good cause.  

What have you been doing since Mean Girls?

Well, I've done 126 movies since Mean Girls, but the real question is what do you do after Mean Girls that people are going to be like, "That movie"? People always say Mean Girls. My favorite thing I've been doing is I've been hosting Cake Wars and Halloween Wars on Food Network. We have a season of Halloween Wars airing right now that is the biggest, best and scariest Halloween Wars ever.

What's the craziest episode you've filmed?

There's one of the biggest food crashes I've ever seen in Food Network history where a giant sculpture falls over after they worked on it for five hours. It's so sad, but it's such an insane TV moment.

What's it like to be hosting Mean Girls Day?

Oh it's awesome. I usually do something every year for Oct. 3. The fans love it so much and we're so grateful to our fans. Since we're such a part of people's lives with different catchphrases, so Oct. 3 I always like to do something with the fans. 

You guys did a GoFundMe for Las Vegas. How'd you guys get that together?

When I woke up on Oct. 2, and saw there were the shootings, I have a lot of friends and entertainers in Las Vegas, so I was really distraught. I knew I needed to do something, so I just called everyone because I knew it would get a lot of social media attention. I was like, "Guys we can do something, raise some money and help these people Our whole cast agreed without questioning -- everyone we could get a hold of in 6 hours. I got a hold of everyone I could reach. They didn't hesitate and we had to shoot the video and it had to be ready by Oct. 3 to raise the money.

How much money have you raised so far?

$50,000 so far in a couple of hours. It's going really well.

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Are you guys all friends still?

Me, Lacey [Chabert], Daniel [Franzese] and Amanda Seyfried all stay in touch. I see Lacey regularly.

Have you kept in touch with Lindsay [Lohan] at all?

I just haven't spoken to her because I don't have her number. I have no idea where she is.

Are you involved with the Mean Girls musical?

No, not at all. They're keeping it separate. They don't want to integrate it really. I can't wait to see the Mean Girls musical. It's the same director as Book of Mormon. When Tina Fey teams up with Casey Nicholaw it's going to be amazing. Tina is so smart and good and the director is fantastic.

What do you hope happens in the Mean Girls musical?

I hope they make fun of me a lot. When they make fun of you a lot, it's the best form of flattery.

Which scene has to be in the movie for you?

They've got to do where they all turn into jungle animals. They have to do that.

What's your fave catchphrase from Mean Girls?

I like all of them, but "Stop trying to make fetch happen" is great. And "I made out with a hot dog, it was one time" was great.

Do people still come up to you?

Every single day. I always say don't worry about fans come up to you. Worry about when they stop. Right now fans love our movie -- I'll keep supporting them if they keep supporting us.

What are your career goals?

I host six shows on the Food Network, I was on Dancing with the Stars and I have I'm just hosting, acting and loving it.

If you could change anything about Aaron Samuels or Mean Girls what would it be?

If I could go back and change anything, I'd give him a better haircut. And by the way, I started the Justin Bieber bob. Justin Bieber did not do it first -- I did. 

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