Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan, known professionally as Benjamin McKenzie or Ben McKenzie, is an
American actor and producer. He is known for playing Ryan Atwood in the television series
The O.C. and for playing Ben Sherman in Southland. He appeared in the films Junebug and 88 Minutes,
the latter of which earned him a Sarasota Film Festival nomination. His first starring
role in a feature film was in the 2008 indie release Johnny Got His Gun. McKenzie stars
as James Gordon in the television series Gotham.
Early life McKenzie was born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan,
in Austin, Texas, the eldest of three sons born to Mary Frances and Pieter Meade Schenkkan.
He is a nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan.
For middle school, he attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where he was friends and
flag football teammates with future Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. He attended Austin High
School, playing wide receiver and defensive back for the school's football team. From
1997-2001, he attended the University of Virginia, where he majored in Foreign Affairs and Economics.
He changed his surname for screen-credit purposes as there is an actor named Ben Schenkken already
registered with SAG. Career
On August 5, 2003, Fox premiered the television series The O.C., about affluent teenagers
with stormy personal lives who reside in scenic Orange County, California. The show became
an overnight success and it put McKenzie on the map as Ryan Atwood. McKenzie's performance
in The O.C. earned him a "Choice Breakout TV Star - Male" and "Choice TV Chemistry"
nominations in The Teen Choice Awards and a "Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure"
and "Choice TV Actor: Drama" wins. McKenzie reportedly earned about $15,000 and $25,000
per episode throughout the show's run. As a result of the show's success, McKenzie
appeared in magazines including People, In Touch Weekly and Us Weekly. McKenzie was ranked
No. 5 in Independent Online's "100 Sexiest Men Alive", was twice placed on Teen People
magazine's annual list of "25 Sexiest Stars under 25". He was also voted one of InStyle's
"10 Hottest Bachelors Of Summer" in July 2005. The O.C. dropped in ratings dramatically during
its third and fourth seasons, and ended in early 2007.
While appearing in The O.C., McKenzie made his feature film debut in Junebug alongside
Amy Adams and Embeth Davidtz. The film was nominated for "Best International Film" and
"Outstanding Ensemble Acting" in the Amanda Awards and won the Sarasota Film Festival
award for "Outstanding Ensemble Acting". It also received high praise at the 2005 Sundance
Film Festival. According to Production Weekly, McKenzie was set to star in the thriller Snakes
On A Plane, formerly known as Pacific Air 121, but later dropped out to film 88 Minutes,
which starred Al Pacino. In 2008, McKenzie earned critical acclaim
for his solo performance in the "live on stage, on film" version of Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel
Johnny Got His Gun, his first starring role in a feature film. He stars as Joe Bonham,
a role previously played by James Cagney, Jeff Daniels, and Timothy Bottoms. The movie
premiered at the Paramount Theater in Austin, TX, McKenzie's hometown, while he was filming
the pilot for Southland. In 2009, he appeared on the short movie, The
Eight Percent. The movie won the Delta Air Lines Fly-in Movie Contest and entered as
an official selection on the Tribeca Film Festival's Short film category.
McKenzie starred as rookie police officer Ben Sherman on the NBC drama Southland, which
premiered on April 9, 2009. The show was canceled while in production on its second season.
TNT bought the rights for the show and showed the seven episodes that had been produced.
The show was subsequently renewed. However, the show was once again cancelled after the
fifth season. McKenzie portrays James Gordon as a young
detective new to Gotham City in the Batman prequel Gotham, which premiered on Fox on
September 22, 2014. Filmography
Awards Further reading
Romano, Mary. Benjamin McKenzie: Rising Star. Triumph. ISBN 978-1-57343-689-2.
References
External links Benjamin McKenzie at the Internet Movie Database