One Mean Girls actor found out about his casting in the funniest way ever

It's true that all films start out as words on a page, but this can get you a tenth of the way to a finished film – and even if you start that journey with a brilliantly crafted script, there are still countless opportunities to create an absolute dog along the way. That's because filmmaking is a highly collaborative art form. Everyone from the director to the cinematographer to the editor to the producer to the costume designers must be dedicated to delivering this great script properly (the same is not enough as there are many films that combine incredibly talented craftsmen with a promising script in destruction).

One of the most important stages in film production is, of course, casting. Great selection has an art (so it now has its own Oscar), especially when it comes to putting together a comedy. Again, it's not just a matter of bringing together some of the funniest people on the planet. For evidence that comedic geniuses fail to sync up time and time again, look no further than outrageous atrocities like Harold Ramis' Club Paradise, Nora Ephron's The Nutcracker and Akiva Shafer's The Watch. Chemistry is key and a casting director needs to cast the right group of actors to find those perfect matches.

For example, comedy casting may be better (and maybe not worse) than Mark Waters' Mean Girls than the Mean Girls musical). Although armed with a fiendishly funny script by Tina Fey, Waters faced the challenge of finding a new collection of mostly unknown actors who could play off star Lindsay Lohan in an unexpectedly hilarious way. They hit the jackpot with the likes of Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Franzese, but they almost missed out on Aaron Samuels. As Cady Heron's (and Regina George's ex-boyfriend) lover, Aaron was meant to be a delightfully goofy object of lust. Jonathan Bennett killed the role, but in losing the role, he almost killed a vital element of the film.

At a recent Hallmark Channel panelJonathan Bennett spilled the tea on the 'Mean Girls' casting process. He wasn't the first choice to play Aaron Samuels. Actually he was, but some executive meddling almost cost him a big opportunity.

According to Bennett, he auditioned, making Lindsay Lohan blush on camera. “(Mark Waters) looks at me and says, 'Hey kid, you just made my lead actor blush.' You're going to get a role,” Bennett said. “I was like, 'Yeah, I got it!'

So Bennett was surprised when, on his way home from his triumphant audition, he got a call informing him that the production would be with someone else—someone who, the actor told the story, had the popular blonde hair and blue eyes. at the time (he cites Paul Walker and Brad Pitt as examples). Unfortunately, Bennett went back to folding Abercrombie & Fitch sweaters.

Little did Bennett know, the actor playing Aaron was about to fire himself by bombing the first table read.

If you're wondering how Bennett suddenly went from what he thought was Aaron's lead to also in the running, it was all due to an executive decision by then-Paramount head Sherry Lansing, who wanted the likeness of Paul Walker (whose identity is a mystery) on board. Per Bennett: “I knew I was Lorne Michael's choice, I knew I was the director's choice, I knew I was Tina Fey's choice, I knew I was Lindsay's choice, but the president of Paramount… is going over everyone's head and says, “It is he.”

Then came the devastating table read. Although Bennett wasn't there, he realizes that the whole fiasco went down the drain:

“(The actor) walks up to the table read in Canada, walks in, he's wearing sweatpants, a baggy hoodie, a hat. He's kind of mumbling. He walks up to Tim Meadows and says, 'Hey, who are you. ?' And Tim Meadows says, “I'm Tim Meadows, who is you?' It was just really awkward, wasn't it? He just says all the wrong things. As he read, he mumbled. And Lorne Michaels from 'Saturday Night Live' is used to table reading being relevant… so they said, 'Hey, make sure you deliver.'

The obscure actor was fired right after the table read, which wasn't a big deal since everyone not named Sherry Lansing wanted Bennett first. However, it was an embarrassment for Bennett, who was shirtless in the middle of an Abercrombie & Fitch shift when his agent called to tell him the good news. Although he was understandably excited, the young actor was focused on his work, so he told his agent that he would call him back after the shift. His agent was not amused. “You don't is shift,” he replied. “Quit.”

And just like that, Bennett was on a plane to Canada to shoot one of the most beloved comedies of the 2000s. which totally made the “fetch” happen.