Jonathan Bennett Says Tina Fey Was ‘On To Something’ With Iconic Line About His ‘Mean Girls’ Character’s Hair (Exclusive)

“She was like, ‘When you get older, you’re going to pull your hair back and you’re going to notice that you look sexy,’” the actor tells PEOPLE of Fey

Jonathan Bennett learned some sage style advice while working with Tina Fey on Mean girls.

On Thursday, July 27, the 43-year-old actor spoke to PEOPLE at San Diego Comic-Con about the comments he hears most often from fans of the 2004 comedy film, in which he played his new love Aaron Samuels and Lindsay Lohan played Cady Heron.

Bennett says people either ask him what day it is — he always answers October 3, of course, a nod to Cady’s voiceover line about her crush Aaron, “On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was” — or tell him his hair “looks sexy when it’s slicked back.”

In a memorable scene in the film’s school cafeteria, Queen Regina George (Rachel McAdams), upset by the discovery that Cady has a crush on her then-boyfriend Aaron, tries to stake her territory. As Cady looks on, Regina runs her fingers through Aaron’s hair and says to him, “Why do you wear your hair like that? Your hair looks so sexy when you slick it back.”

Related: Mean girls Turning 20! Here’s What the Cast Has Been Up to Since the Film’s Premiere 20 Years Ago

Regina then turns to Cady and asks her, “Cady, will you please tell him that his hair looks sexy when it’s combed back?”

Bennett tells PEOPLE that he didn’t understand writer and co-star Fey’s hairstyling wisdom at the time, but that now that he’s older, he’s come to appreciate it. Now, when fans tell him his hair looks sexy when he slicks it back, his response is, “Ironically, it does.”

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“Tina Fey was right. She was like, ‘Your hair looks sexy when you slick it back.’ I was like, ‘No, Tina, I’m doing the Justin Bieber,'” he recalled of their on-set conversation about his character’s haircut.

“And I had my hair all down and she was like, ‘When you get older, you’re going to push your hair back and you’re going to notice that you look sexy.’ And I was like, ‘No, I’m still a teenager,'” Bennett continues. “And then boom, I pushed it back and she was right.”

“She’s always right. Tina Fey is always right,” he adds with a laugh.

Related: Mean girls 20th Anniversary: ​​Cast Explains Why It’s ‘Timeless’ For Both Millennials and Gen Z (Exclusive)

In April, Bennett celebrated the 20th anniversary of the hit film by sharing photos on Instagram of himself posing with Lohan, 38, and Lacey Chabert (who played Plastic member Gretchen Wieners).

In the caption of the post, he reflected on the impact the film role had on his life. “20 years ago today, the world met Aaron, Cady, Gretchen, Karen, Regina, Janis, Damien, Kevin G, Shane and Ms. Norbury for the first time when Mean Girls premiered at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, California on April 19, 2004,” Bennett wrote.

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He continued: “Today marks 20 years since my life changed forever. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be part of a story that continues to bring joy to so many people to this day. It’s one of the greatest gifts of my career and life.”

As the cast passed the torch to a new generation of stars who created a musical adaptation of Mean girls Twenty years later, Bennett shared his advice with actor Christopher Briney, who plays Aaron in the 2024 film.

“I’m super excited about the movie musical. I love that this movie has transcended generations because of Tina Fey’s script,” he told PEOPLE in December 2023. “I think the new musical movie is going to be fantastic and I hope the new Aaron makes the character his own, because it’s his time to interpret the character.”

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