20 Years After "Mean Girls," Jonathan Bennett Is Finding New Ways To Make Fans Swoon

To a generation of viewers, Jonathan Bennett will forever be known as Aaron Samuels, the dreamy jock who won the heart of Lindsay Lohan’s character in the 2004 teen comedy classic Mean Girls.

The actor, who is gay, has more recently been finding creative ways to reflect his lived experience through his work. This fall, he’s one of the principal stars of Hallmark’s The Groomsmen trilogy, in which he portrays Danny, a gay athlete who supports his two straight friends (Tyler Hynes and B.J. Britt) as they prepare for their respective weddings ― while holding out hope for a fairy-tale ending of his own. 

In the series’ second installment, The Groomsmen: Second Chances, Danny grapples with a My Best Friend’s Wedding-like conundrum when he’s asked to be the best man for a longtime pal, Zack (Alexander Lincoln), who is preparing to tie the knot in Greece. What Zack doesn’t know, however, is that Danny has been suppressing his own feelings for him. 

“I got married two years ago [to television personality Jaymes Vaughan], and I had a bunch of my best friends as my groomsmen, and I’ve been in a bunch of my friends’ weddings as their groomsmen,” said Bennett, who is also a co-creator and co-producer on the trilogy. “Half my friends are straight, half my friends are gay, and we’ve always been a wolf pack.”

“Those friends are there for you when you need each other,” he continued. “But they also have an innate ability to call you out on your crap when you’re not being your best self. So I thought there was an interesting story that hasn’t been told of that male squad in the romantic comedy space.” 

Bennett made his Hallmark debut in 2020 when he appeared in The Christmas House, the network’s first holiday-themed offering to include an LGBTQ+ storyline. Similarly, Second Chances is billed as Hallmark’s first to feature a gay wedding in a principal storyline.

Of course, Bennett knew he’d have to stay true to rom-com tradition by having the film end on a happy note for both Danny and Zack. But, he and the rest of the creative team nonetheless looked for unexpected ways to subvert LGBTQ+ tropes.

Given the scarcity of openly LGBTQ+ athletes in professional sports, Bennett felt he would “offer aspiration and hope” to fans by making Danny a Major League Baseball player. 

“We want to make sure when we’re telling stories ― whether it’s a holiday story or a wedding story ― that there’s always a seat at the table for everyone,” he said. 

With four years of Hallmark experience under his belt, Bennett is also thrilled to be mentoring would-be heartthrobs as the host of Finding Mr. Christmas. Airing Thursdays, the competition series finds 10 actors vying to be the leading man in an upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie, Happy Howlidays, starring Jessica Lowndes and due out Dec. 21. 

“My dream for the show is for it to be like the early days of American Idol, where everyone gathers around the TV together at the holidays, and everybody has their favorites that they’re rooting for,” Bennett said. As to what makes the ideal Hallmark holiday heartthrob, he noted: “They have a wit and a kindness to them. They have a whole lot of heart and charisma coming out of their ears. And, of course, they look good in a Christmas sweater.” 

With his television career once again in high gear, Bennett also got to fulfill a lifelong dream this year when he made his Broadway debut in the musical Spamalot as Sir Robin. Looking ahead to 2025, he’s eager for an opportunity to return to the stage or turn his attention behind the camera by directing his first feature film. 

Meanwhile, he and Vaughan have emerged as queer role models in their own right, offering quirky and colorful glimpses of their journey as a married couple to over 1 million followers on social media. 

Bennett has been pleasantly surprised by just how warmly his marriage has been embraced by legions of youngsters ― and their parents ― who may be coming to terms with their own sexuality or gender identity. 

“Sharing my love for my husband unapologetically with the world has been one of the biggest honors of my life,” he said. “We don’t post pictures of us kissing because we want pictures of us kissing ― I’m not even a good kisser. We do it because we didn’t have a love that looked like ours to look up to. This way, our love can be seen by the people who need to see it.” 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.