Jonathan Bennett surprises the cast members of a local 'Mean Girls' high school production

Jonathan Bennett and the "Mean Girls" have an unbroken bond. Best known for his role as Aaron Samuels in the iconic film, Bennett posted a video on Instagram of himself surprising the cast of a local "Mean Girls" student production in Palm Springs, California. A "theatre kid" himself, he claimed that the idea to surprise the high schoolers was given by the mother of the young actor cast in the show as Aaron Samuels.

Bennett agreed to surprise the students, which he said he was "excited" to do. As he came out of his car, the 42-year-old began the video by saying, "So the local high school's doing 'Mean Girls' and tonight's their dress rehearsal, so I'm gonna go surprise them."

"You guys, stop trying to make fetch happen, it's not going to happen," Bennett declared as he walked onto the stage at the Palm Canyon Theatre. The teens, who appeared surprised at first, applauded and cheered his arrival. Bennett then got to meet and shake hands with several members of the cast, joking with the actress playing mean girl Gretchen Wieners, "Oh no, watch out for that one!" and teasing with "Even worse" when a teen introduced herself as the one playing the role of queen bee Regina George.

Bennett hilariously went down on his knees and lowered his head when he met fellow Aaron Samuels actor. He then began to bow as the teen said, "Please, the honor is mine." When he met Torie, the actress who plays Cady Heron, he screamed while holding her hand. He then took questions from the cast about acting and theatre. Torie enquired about how the veteran actor dealt with stress onstage.

He assured her by sharing, "You're going to be great. 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 more advice with other cast members, saying, "This is your time, you're going to crush it. You'll have so much fun. I can't wait to watch." Bennett ended the video by belting out "I'd Rather Be Me" with the students, encouraging viewers to attend the students' show.

He wrote in his caption, "This was so fun, I was one of these theater kids growing up. And when the mom of their Aaron Samuels asks me to show up, you have to. The kids worked so hard and the show is great. Go see it at Palm Canyon Theater through the 16th. (This video has 30 more seconds, but I didn't realize I can only do 90 seconds on reels. Oops)." The full video can be found on his TikTok, which received more than a million views. 

Bennett received love for the heartwarming encounter from his fans on Instagram, including his husband, Jaymes Vaughan, who commented: "I'm so proud to be your husband." Lacey Chabert, who played Gretchen in the film, praised Bennett's surprise appearance as well, writing, "This is the best." Bennett hinted while talking to PEOPLE that he might be involved in the upcoming film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning 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.