Jonathan Bennett (actor)

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 was 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, to David Bennett, a physician from Toledo, and Ruthanne Bennett (née Mason). He has two half-brothers, Brian and Brent, and one half-sister, Lisa.

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 or 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 2022, Bennett starred in the first LGBTQ-led Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, The Holiday Sitter.

Bennett and spouse Jaymes 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.

Personal life
Bennett is openly gay. On November 30, 2020, representatives for Bennett confirmed he was engaged to 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.