Jonathan Bennett (actor)
American actor and model
title: "Jonathan Bennett (actor)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1981-births", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "21st-century-american-lgbtq-people", "21st-century-american-male-actors", "american-gay-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-soap-opera-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "celebrity-big-brother-(american-tv-series)-contestants", "lgbtq-people-from-ohio", "living-people", "male-actors-from-toledo,-ohio", "otterbein-university-alumni", "people-from-rossford,-ohio"] description: "American actor and model" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Bennett_(actor)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor and model ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Jonathan Bennett |
| image | Jonathan Bennett - Good Riddance Day 2024 81 (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Bennett at the 2024 Good Riddance Day in Times Square |
| birth_name | Jonathan David Bennett |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Rossford, Ohio, U.S. |
| occupation | {{flatlist |
| years_active | 2001–present |
| known_for | Mean Girls |
| Spamalot | |
| Van Wilder: Freshman Year | |
| spouse | |
| :: |
| name = Jonathan Bennett | image = Jonathan Bennett - Good Riddance Day 2024 81 (cropped).jpg | caption = Bennett at the 2024 Good Riddance Day in Times Square | birth_name = Jonathan David Bennett | birth_date = | birth_place = Rossford, Ohio, U.S. | occupation = {{flatlist|
- Actor
- television host}} | years_active = 2001–present | known_for = Mean Girls Spamalot Van Wilder: Freshman Year | spouse =
**Jonathan David Bennett ** (born June 10, 1981) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Aaron Samuels in the 2004 comedy film Mean Girls, Bud McNulty in 2005's Cheaper by the Dozen 2, the title character in the 2009 direct-to-DVD comedy Van Wilder: Freshman Year, and his recurring role as Casey Gant in the mystery drama Veronica Mars. He is the host of the Food Network series Halloween Wars, and he previously hosted Cake Wars.
Bennett made his Broadway debut in Spamalot on January 23, 2024, playing Sir Robin, Guard 1 and Brother Maynard.
Early life
Bennett was born in Ohio,
Bennett attended Eagle Point Elementary School in Rossford, Ohio, and graduated from Rossford High School in 1999. Bennett attended Otterbein University.
Career
After moving to New York, he was cast on the ABC soap opera All My Children as JR Chandler from 2001 to 2002. Since then, he has appeared in various television dramas, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Smallville, and Veronica Mars.
Bennett co-starred in the 2004 comedy movie Mean Girls as Aaron Samuels, the love interest of star Lindsay Lohan's character. In 2005, he co-starred in the family comedy movie Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and the romantic comedy movie Lovewrecked. In 2007, Bennett appeared in the direct-to-video prequel TV series The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning, in which he played Bo Duke. In 2009, he starred as the title character in Van Wilder: Freshman Year, and appeared as Nick in the Hallmark original movie Elevator Girl.
On September 4, 2014, Bennett was announced as one of the celebrities competing on the 19th season of Dancing with the Stars. He was paired with professional dancer Allison Holker. Bennett and Holker were eliminated on Week 6 of the competition and finished in 9th place.
From 2015 to 2017, Bennett hosted the Food Network cooking competition show Cake Wars.
In 2016, Bennett played gay sports agent Lucas in two episodes of Hit the Floor.
In 2018, with celebrity chef Nikki Martin, he released a pop culture cookbook titled The Burn CookBook.
In 2019, he was featured in the filmed poem rendition Love Goes Never Alone, in support of the LGBT+ community, for the online theatre publication First Night Magazine, performing next to other film, television and theatre celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, Debra Messing, Neil Gaiman, and Sharon Osbourne.
On January 13, 2019, it was announced that Bennett would be a houseguest on the second season of the reality competition show Celebrity Big Brother.
In 2021, Bennet played Jesus Christ - as an imaginary best friend to the eponymous Russian boy in Wes Hurley's Potato Dreams of America.
In 2022, Bennett starred in the first LGBTQ-led Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, The Holiday Sitter.
Bennett and husband Jaymes Vaughan appeared together on the July 8, 2022, wedding-themed episode of Trixie Motel entitled Oh Honeymoon. They provide support and advice to the groom-to-be. In 2024, Bennett was announced as the host and the main judge of Hallmark's reality series Finding Mr. Christmas, which premiered on October 31, 2024.
Personal life
On November 30, 2020, representatives for Bennett confirmed he was engaged to The Amazing Race contestant and current Celebrity Page host Jaymes Vaughan, who proposed on the set for The Christmas House with an original song. In 2021, Bennett and Vaughan became the first gay couple to appear on the cover of the magazine The Knot. In March 2022, the couple got married at the Unico Riviera Maya Hotel in Mexico.
Bennett's mother Ruthanne died November 30, 2012, aged 67. His father, David, died on April 28, 2014, aged 73.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Season of Youth | Taylor | Palm Beach International Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
| 2004 | Mean Girls | Aaron Samuels | Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Lindsay Lohan) |
| Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Movie Star - Male | |||
| 2005 | Love Wrecked | Ryan Howell | |
| Cheaper by the Dozen 2 | Bud McNulty | ||
| 2006 | Bachelor Party Vegas | Nathan | |
| 2009 | ** | Zack Cooper | |
| Van Wilder: Freshman Year | Van Wilder | ||
| 2012 | Memorial Day | SSgt Kyle Vogel | |
| Music High | Jasper "Jazz" Poland | ||
| Divorce Invitation | Michael | Remake of 1997 Indian Telugu movie Aahwaanam | |
| Slightly Single in L.A. | Seven | ||
| Christmas Crush | Ben | ||
| 2013 | Pawn | Aaron | Also executive producer |
| Anything Is Possible | George | ||
| ** | Greg | ||
| Misogynist | Harrison | Nominated – Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival LAIUFF Award for Best Actor | |
| also co-producer | |||
| 2014 | Authors Anonymous | William Bruce | Also executive producer |
| Mining for Ruby | Andrew | ||
| A Christmas Kiss II | Sebastian | ||
| 2015 | Paid in Full | Jack | |
| Cats Dancing on Jupiter | Ben Cross | ||
| ** | Dean Stanton | ||
| 2016 | Submerged | Matt | |
| Do Over | Anthony Campana | ||
| Romantically Speaking | Nathan | ||
| Deadly Retreat | Mike | ||
| Do You Take This Man | Christopher | Also co-producer | |
| 2017 | Bride to Be | Danny | |
| 2019 | The Haunting of Sharon Tate | Jay Sebring | |
| Love on Repeat | Kevin | ||
| 2021 | Potato Dreams of America | Jesus Christ | |
| 2023 | Snow Falls | Jace | |
| Fire Island | Rafael | ||
| The Plus One | Marshall | ||
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2002 | All My Children | JR Chandler | Main role |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Kyle Fuller | Episode: "Deception" |
| 2003 | Boston Public | Ethan Guest | Episode: "Chapter Sixty-Three" |
| 2004–2005 | Veronica Mars | Casey Gant | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Smallville | Kevin Grady | Episode: "Blank" |
| Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List | Himself | Episodes: "From A to D" and "Magic Carpet Ride" | |
| 2007 | ** | Bo Duke | Television film |
| Cane | Brad | Episode: "Time Away" | |
| 2010 | Elevator Girl | Nick Sweeney | Television film |
| 2012 | Fred: The Show | Lash Landridge | Episode: "Freddy and the Figglettes, Part 2" |
| Christmas Crush | Ben Oliver | Television film | |
| 2013 | The Wrong Woman | Ben | Television film |
| Police Guys | Himself | Television film | |
| The Glades | Drew Green | Episode: "Killer Barbecue" | |
| 2014 | Sweet Surrender | Jerry | Television film |
| Dancing with the Stars | Contestant | Season 19 | |
| Copycat MTV | Host | ||
| ** | Sebastian | Television film | |
| 2015 | Romantically Speaking | Nathan | Television film |
| Christmas Cookie Challenge | Host | ||
| 2015–2017 | Cake Wars | Host | |
| 2016 | Hit the Floor | Lucas | Episodes: "Blocked" and "Good D" |
| Awkward | Ethan | Recurring role (Season 5) | |
| Cupcake Wars | Host | ||
| 2016–2020, 2023–present | Halloween Wars | Host | |
| 2017 | Love at First Glance | Victor | Television film |
| 2018 | The Last Sharknado: It's About Time | Billy the Kid | Television film |
| Christmas Made to Order | Steven | Television film | |
| 2018–2019 | Entertainment Tonight | Reporter | |
| 2019 | Celebrity Big Brother | Contestant | Season 2 |
| Supergirl | Quentin | Episode: "Stand and Deliver" | |
| Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club | Himself | Episode: "After the Show" | |
| 2019–present | Times Square Ball | Host | Annual live webcast |
| 2020 | Station 19 | Michael | Episodes: "Ice Ice Baby" and "No One Is Alone" |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | Guest judge | Episode: "Snatch Game" | |
| The Christmas House | Brandon Nock | Television film | |
| 2021 | The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls | Television film | |
| 2022 | Deadly Yoga Retreat | Remy | Television film |
| Wedding of a Lifetime | Jake | Television film | |
| The Holiday Sitter | Sam | Television film | |
| 2023 | Fantasy Island | Oliver | Episode: "Forever and a Day" |
| Christmas on Cherry Lane | Mike | Television film | |
| 2023–present | Food Network's Battle of the Decades | Host | |
| 2024 | The Groomsmen: First Look | Danny | Television film trilogy |
| The Groomsmen: Second Chances | |||
| The Groomsmen: Last Dance | |||
| Finding Mr. Christmas | Host and judge | ||
| Season's Greetings from Cherry Lane | Mike | Television film | |
| Happy Howlidays | Troy | Television film | |
| 2025 | Doctor Odyssey | Matt | 2 episodes |
| :: |
Music videos
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | "Thank U, Next" | Ariana Grande | |
| :: |
References
References
- "Jonathan Bennett".
- Maltin, Leonard. (August 5, 2008). "Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide". Penguin.
- "Spamalot Announcement".
- (December 2, 2012). "Ruthanne Bennett Obituary". [[The Blade (Toledo).
- (April 30, 2014). "David Bennett Obituary". The Blade.
- (September 15, 2014). "Rossford drama club holds rally for grad on TV show". The Blade.
- [[Otterbein University]] Theatre Department. (October 3, 2017). "October 3rd is known as "Mean Girls Day," but did you know that @JonathanBennett aka Aaron Samuels was a former Otterbein student? Grool!".
- (September 4, 2014). "Jonathan Bennett, who attended Otterbein (pictured on the far left) and played Aaron Samuels in "Mean Girls," was announced as one of 13 celebrity dancers on Season 19 of Dancing with the Stars.". [[Otterbein University]] Alumni Facebook page.
- "Toledo Native Dances in Parents' Memory". The Blade.
- "'Dancing With The Stars' 2014: Season 19 Couples Ready to Tango". Good Morning America/Yahoo News.
- Reiher, Andrea. (October 20, 2014). "'Dancing With the Stars' Season 19 week 6 scores and elimination results".
- "Cake Wars on Food Network Canada".
- Hinzmann, Dennis. (January 13, 2016). "First Look at Adam Senn and Brent Antonello in ''Hit the Floor'' Season 3". [[Out (magazine).
- (October 3, 2018). "Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett Wants to 'Make Fetch-uccine Alfredo Happen' with the Burn Cookbook". People.
- (July 5, 2019). "Love Goes Never Alone".
- Porreca, Brian. (January 13, 2019). "'Celebrity Big Brother' Cast Includes Anthony Scaramucci, Dina Lohan and Ryan Lochte". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
- Ross, Dalton. (January 13, 2019). "Anthony Scaramucci among 12 new Celebrity Big Brother houseguests".
- "Film Review: Potato Dreams of America".
- Sim, Bernardo. (December 8, 2022). "Jonathan Bennett Talks Starring in Hallmark's 1st Gay-Led Holiday Film". Out Magazine.
- Baldwin, Kristen. (October 3, 2024). "Meet the cast of Hallmark+ reality show Finding Mr. Christmas (exclusive)". [[Entertainment Weekly]].
- Schnurr, Samantha. (November 30, 2020). "''Mean Girls''{{'}} Jonathan Bennett Is Engaged to Boyfriend Jaymes Vaughan". [[E!]].
- VanHoose, Benjamin. (November 30, 2020). "Mean Girls Star Jonathan Bennett Is Engaged to Boyfriend Jaymes Vaughan: 'Can't Wait to Get Married!'". [[People (magazine).
- "Jonathan Bennett, Fiance Jaymes Vaughan Become First Gay Couple To Cover 'The Knot'".
- (March 21, 2022). "Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan Wed in Inclusive Ceremony: 'We're So Blessed'".
- Goldberg, Lesley. (October 15, 2013). "'Mean Girls' Alum Set to Host MTV's 'Copycat' (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
- Aiello, McKenna. (November 30, 2018). "All the Celebrity Cameos in Ariana Grande's ''Thank U, Next'' Music Video". [[E! News]].
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