Exclusive | ‘Elle’ star raves about how Reese Witherspoon surprised cast, James Van Der Beek’s ‘absolute light’ on set

Reese Witherspoon surprised the cast of “Legally Blonde” prequel series “Elle” when she visited the set, actor Jacob Moskovitz said. 

“We didn’t know she was coming,” he exclusively told The Post, explaining that the show’s stunt coordinator was also named Reese. 

So, Moskovitz was nonchalant about getting told that “Reese” was there, because he assumed it was the stunt coordinator. 

“But no, it was Reese Witherspoon who was on set! So we went down and met her and took some photos. It was great.” 

Witherspoon, who starred as Elle Woods in the original 2001 movie “Legally Blonde,” is executive producing “Elle.” 

Now streaming, the Prime Video show follows a teen version of Elle Woods (played by Lexi Minetree) during her high school years in the ‘90s. 

Moskovitz plays Miles, Elle’s jock love interest at her new Seattle school. 

During Witherspoon’s visit, she gave the cast advice: “Drink water. Stay positive. Stay focused, get lots of rest, and be kind,” he recalled. 

James Van Der Beek is also in the show posthumously. 

The “Dawson’s Creek” star filmed his role as a local mayoral candidate before he died of cancer at 48 in February. 

“We didn’t have a ton of overlap, but he sat and ate lunch with us and talked with us. And he was just an absolute light on our set. We miss him very much,” said Moskovitz. 

“We’re really honored that he was a part of the show.” 

“Elle” comes just as “Legally Blonde” is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The original cast commemorated the event with a celebration that included the “Elle” cast. 

“I was talking to Victor Garber [at the party]. He hadn’t realized the effect that this film has had on the world,” Moskovitz shared. 

Garber played Elle’s professor in the original flick. 

Moskovitz also compared notes with the original “Legally Blonde” cast members, like Selma Blair, he said.

They talked about how she did “all this preparation” and was only a few years into her career, at the time, he noted. 

“And then [the original cast] got to set, and they’re like, ‘what on earth is the tone of this film? How are we going to make this?’ And then, everyone’s performance came to life just by being in proximity to Reece’s performance as Elle,” he said. 

“That was how we felt on [the set of ‘Elle’], too.” 

Moskovitz has an important role, because Miles is Elle’s first kiss. 

“Lexi [Minetree] and I were watching ‘Zoolander’ before we shot the scene, so we were in a very playful mood. We were absolutely determined to make it a really special moment,” he recalled.

Elle and Miles kiss in the rain, so the actors were, “soaking wet, and we had been for 6 or 7 hours, while shooting that,” he said.

“Elle” is now streaming on Prime Video. It’s already been renewed for a Season 2.