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Mean Girls' Crush Background: “Ever since all the movies I’ve done started coming to DVD and you’re in everybody’s homes nonstop… it makes it harder to go to the mall.” Jonathan Bennett. First noticed as rich teen Adam 'J. R.' Chandler Jr. (2001-2002) on the ABC popular soap opera, “All My Children,” Jonathan Bennett later became moviegoers' favorite while playing Aaron Samuels, the affection of Lindsay Lohan's character and “The Plastics,” in the hit teen movie "Mean Girls" (2004). The actor who drew critical accolades for his standout performance in the independent feature “Season of Youth” (2003) also played memorable roles in the films "Lovewrecked" (2005) and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" (2005). Meanwhile, the rising star has appeared in such popular TV shows as "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Boston Public," "Smallville," and "Veronica Mars." He recently portrayed a young Bo Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" (2007). On a more personal note, the 6' 2" actor reportedly dating his “All My Children” co-star actress, Elizabeth Hendrickson (born on July 3, 1979), who plays Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone in the popular soap.
Rossford Born
Childhood and Family: Born in Rossford, Ohio, on June 10, 1981, Jonathan D. Bennett spent part of his youth in North Carolina, where he did his first play while he was in the seventh grade. He continued to act throughout high school, where he was elected student council president. He graduated in 1999 and went to Otterbein College in Columbus, Ohio, to study theater. After graduating from college he moved to New York to pursue acting full time. Jonathan is brother of Brent and Lisa Bennett. He is also cousin of actress Lori Moegling and a close friend of actress/comedian Kathy Griffin. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area.
Season of Youth
Career: Having started acting in the seventh grade, Jonathan Bennett, who idolized actor/comedian Chevy Chase throughout his childhood, continued to act throughout high school, appearing in an episode of British TV series "Dad" and "The Bill." After graduating with a theater degree from college, he moved to New York to pursue acting and meet his agent on the train along the way. Within only a month of his arrival, Bennett landed the role of rich teen Adam 'J. R.' Chandler Jr. (2001-2002) on the ABC popular soap opera, “All My Children.” He followed it up with a guest spot in an October 2002 episode of NBC's cop drama series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and an appearance in the made-for-television movie on Fox, "Eastwick" (2002), alongside Marcia Cross, Kelly Rutherford, Jason O'Mara, Chris Evans and Riley Smith. In 2003, Bennett drew critical accolades for his standout performance in his feature film debut, “Season of Youth,” an independent film about racism written and directed by Eric Perlmutter. His turn as Taylor, who has a deep seeded hatred for black people and later becomes obsessed with a young black student from the South Bronx, won him the Best Actor award at that year's Palm Beach Film Festival. Meanwhile, he was spotted as a guest in an episode of Fox's ensemble high school drama "Boston Public." From 2004 to 2005, Bennett played Casey Gant on UPN's (now the CW) critically-acclaimed teen drama/mystery neo-noir series starring Kristen Bell, "Veronica Mars." During that time, he garnered notice from moviegoers while portraying Aaron Samuels, the handsome boy whom Lindsay Lohan's character had a crush on and eventual boyfriend, in "Mean Girls" (2004), Mark Waters' teen movie based on the non-fiction book "Queen Bees and Wannabes" by Rosalind Wiseman. His performance in the hit film, which also stars Rachel McAdams and Lacey Chabert, earned him two nominations at the Teen Choice Awards, one for “Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male” and another one for “Choice Movie Chemistry,” which he shares with Lohan. In the following year, Bennett supported Amanda Bynes and Chris Carmack in Randal Kleiser's romantic comedy film "Lovewrecked" (2005), playing Bynes' best friend Ryan. He also became the husband of Piper Perabo's character in Adam Shankman's family comedy film "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," the sequel to the family comedy film Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) which also stars Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, and Tom Welling. Meanwhile, on the small screen, Bennett co-starred with Jacob Pitts, Shiri Appleby and Rachel Blanchard in a TV series pilot made for ABC, "1/4life," which has not been aired, and guest starred as perpetrator Kevin Grady in an April 2005 episode of the WB's sci-fi series about the life of young Superman, "Smallville." A personal friend of Emmy-winning comedienne Kathy Griffin, Bennett made two notable 2005 appearances as himself on Griffin's acclaimed reality show on Bravo, “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.” The subsequent year saw Bennett co-starred with Kal Penn and Donald Faison in Eric Bernt's adventure/comedy film, "Bachelor Party Vegas" (2006). In the straight-to-DVD released movie, he played Nathan, a soon-to-be married young man taken by a group of his best friends for the bachelor party to the Sin City which ends up to one embarrassing, dangerous, humiliating screw-up after another. Recently, Bennett starred in "The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning," a prequel to the 2005 film "The Dukes of Hazzard." In an edited version of the film, which debuted on the ABC Family cable television channel on March 4, 2007, he portrayed a young mischievous Bo Duke, alongside Randy Wayne as his cousin Luke. The 'R'-rated and unrated versions of the film were later released on DVD on March 13, 2007. “... I was a huge fan. I grew up watching it, so when the opportunity came up to play Bo I thought; I get to slide across the hood of the General Lee and jump in the window?!? Done.” Jonathan Bennett (on playing Bo Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" (2007)).
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