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"I'm grateful that Aaron didn't have a number."
Mean Girls star Christopher Briney got candid about not having a musical number in the reimagining of the 2004 iconic movie.
The Summer I Turned Pretty star plays Aaron Samuels, a role that was portrayed by Jonathan Bennett in the original film.
Regina George's ex-boyfriend and protagonist Cady Heron's love interest, Aaron is one of the few characters who don't have a big number in the new movie – based on the musical theatre show – directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr from a script by Tina Fey.
"I'm grateful that he didn't have a number," Briney told Digital Spy in an exclusive chat.
Related: Mean Girls review: A smart and funny update of the iconic movie
"I don't know. I mean, I've never had a role where the character sings and dances his feelings, so I don't really know any different," he continued.
"In some ways, I know the work that I do, to feel like I understand this character, and know what he's doing, and know what he's going through, and hope that that translates."
While he didn't get a chance to showcase his singing skills, Briney enjoyed being in numbers with co-protagonists Angourie Rice and Reneé Rapp, who portray Cady and Regina respectively.
"I just want to be in numbers, and not really be a part of it. That's fun. It's really cool to not really know what's going on, and to be oblivious to something that's happening. It's just fun to play with," Briney said.
"You have to ignore the singing at you where I'm yelling at the back of your head," Rice chimed in, to which Briney replied: "It was fun."
Related: Mean Girls soundtrack: Which songs have been cut from the musical?
Was there ever a moment in which Briney wished he did sing? It doesn't seem to be the case as the actor admitted he was "so happy" the filmmakers ultimately decided to scrap Aaron's number.
"Oh, I was so happy [to not sing]," he said.
In the Broadway musical that provides the inspiration for Mean Girls, Aaron and Regina sing 'Someone Gets Hurt', but it looks like the new movie went in a different direction.
"It was in the script the whole time, and I was just like, 'They're not going to make me do that,'" he said.
"It would have been our duet," Rapp said, with Rice adding: "Everyone else wished that Chris would sing."
Mean Girls is released in UK cinemas on January 17, and is out now in US cinemas.
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Stefania Sarrubba
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
Ian Sandwell
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
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