Jonathan Bennett Surprises a High School Production of 'Mean Girls': ‘This Is Your Time’

Jonathan Bennett is heading back to Mean Girls high.

The 42-year-old actor, known for playing Aaron Samuels in the iconic film, shared a video of himself on TikTok and Instagram surprising the stars of a local Mean Girls student production in Palm Springs, California.

“So the local high school’s doing Mean Girls and tonight’s their dress rehearsal so I’m gonna go surprise them,” Bennett could be heard saying at the start of the video as he got out of his car.

He said that the idea to surprise the high schoolers came from the mother of the young actor set to play Aaron Samuels in the show. She asked Bennett to come surprise the students, which he said he was “excited” to do, having been one of those “theater kids" himself.

“You guys, stop trying to make fetch happen, it’s not going to happen,” Bennett declared, using the movie's iconic phrase, as he entered the stage at the Palm Canyon Theatre. The teens, who appeared shocked at first, enthusiastically applauded and cheered his arrival. 

Bennett then got to meet several members of the cast and shake their hands, joking when he met the actress playing mean girl Gretchen Wieners, “Oh no, watch out for that one!” and teasing, “Even worse” when one of the teens said she was playing queen bee Regina George.

When Bennett got to meet his fellow Aaron Samuels actor, he hilariously went down on his knees and lowered his head. He then started bowing as the teen told him, “Please, the honor is mine.” 

The Fire Island star also had a big reaction when he met Torie, the actress playing Cady Heron, as he let out a scream while holding her hand.

He then answered questions from the cast about theater and acting, with Torie asking the longtime actor how he dealt with stress onstage. When she admitted to feeling the pressure, the actor went to her and took her hand.

“You’re going to be great,” he assured her, adding, “It’s not up to you to worry about what Lindsay [Lohan] did or what people on Broadway did. It’s about you doing what you want to do.” 

He shared one more piece of advice to all the cast members, telling them, “This is your time, you’re going to crush it. You’ll have so much fun. I can’t wait to watch.” 

The video ended with Bennett belting out “I’d Rather Be Me” with the students at the top of his lungs as he encouraged people to check out the students' show, which runs from July 7 to July 16.

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Lacey Chabert, 40, who played Gretchen in the film, praised Bennett's surprise appearance, writing on Instagram, “This is the best ❤️”

Bennett’s husband Jaymes Vaughan also shared a sweet response to the video. “I’m so proud to be your husband," he wrote.

This comes a few months after Bennett teased to PEOPLE that he could possibly be involved in the upcoming film adaptation of the Tony-nominated Broadway show.

"There's some talks going on about certain things," he said on the red carpet when asked about any knowledge he has about the project. "Let's just say that," he added.