Ben McKenzie
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor, author and commentator. He is best known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood on the teen drama The O.C. (2003–2007), Ben Sherman on the crime drama Southland (2009–2013), and James "Jim" Gordon on the crime drama Gotham (2014–2019). McKenzie made his film debut in the Academy Award-nominated film Junebug (2005), before appearing in films including 88 Minutes (2007), Goodbye World (2013), Some Kind of Beautiful (2014), and Line of Duty (2019). In 2020, he made his Broadway debut in the Bess Wohl play Grand Horizons.
Outside of acting, McKenzie is noted for his critical commentary on the cryptocurrency bubble and fraud with journalist Jacob Silverman. Their book on the subject, Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, was published in July 2023.
Early life
McKenzie was born in Austin, Texas.<ref name="tvg">Template:Cite web</ref> He is one of three sons born to Frances Schenkkan, a poet, and Pete Schenkkan, an attorney.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":6">Template:Cite news</ref> He has two younger brothers, both of whom are former actors.<ref name=":6" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is the brother-in-law of photojournalist Scout Tufankjian.<ref name="WICKEDLOCALNY">Template:Cite web</ref>
His grandfather, Robert F. Schenkkan, was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and worked on passing the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.<ref name="RSObit">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is a nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan;<ref name="RSObit" /> McKenzie appeared in his 2019 work The Investigation. His middle name, McKenzie, is his paternal grandmother's maiden name; he uses it as part of his stage name to avoid confusion with actor Ben Shenkman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His second cousin is actress Sarah Drew.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Usurped, texascollegetennis.com; retrieved March 8, 2010.</ref> He attended Stephen F. Austin High School, playing wide receiver and defensive back for the school's football team. From 1997 to 2001 he attended the University of Virginia, his father and paternal grandfather's alma mater, where he majored in foreign affairs and economics.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Acting career
2001–2007: Early career and The O.C.
After graduating from college in 2001, McKenzie moved to New York City where he worked in part-time jobs and performed in some off-off-Broadway productions.<ref name="hale20141123">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> During this period, he also participated in summer stock theater and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.<ref name=":0" />
At age twenty-three,<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref> he moved to Los Angeles where he waited tables and slept on the floor of his friend Ernie Sabella's apartment.<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="hale20141123" /> He was soon cast as Ryan Atwood in The O.C.<ref name="hale20141123" /> On August 5, 2003, Fox premiered the television series, about affluent teenagers with stormy personal lives in Orange County, California. The show became an overnight success and made McKenzie famous. His performance in The O.C. earned him "Choice Breakout TV Star – Male" and "Choice TV Chemistry" nominations in the Teen Choice Awards as well as "Choice TV Actor – Drama/Action Adventure" and "Choice TV Actor – Drama" wins. McKenzie reportedly earned between about $15,000 and $25,000 per episode throughout the show's run.
The O.C. was the first time McKenzie played what The New York Times later described as the "quiet, guarded leading man" role he would repeatedly portray.Template:R As a result of the show's success, McKenzie appeared in magazines including People, In Touch Weekly and Us Weekly. He was ranked No. 5 in Independent Online's "100 Sexiest Men Alive" and twice appeared on Teen People magazine's annual list of "25 Sexiest Stars under 25". McKenzie 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
While appearing in The O.C., McKenzie made his feature film debut in the Academy Award-nominated film 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2007–2019: Southland and Gotham
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 film. He stars as Joe Bonham, a role previously played by James Cagney, Jeff Daniels, and Timothy Bottoms.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The movie premiered at the Paramount Theater in Austin, McKenzie's hometown, while he was filming the pilot for Southland. In 2009, he appeared in the short film 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 and ran for five seasons before being canceled in 2013. From September to October 2010, he starred in an off-Broadway transfer of The Glass Menagerie at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Following the end of Southland, McKenzie was cast in the CBS drama television pilot The Advocates, opposite Mandy Moore.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The show was not produced. In late 2013, he was cast in the drama film The Swimmer, a Norwegian production that was not produced.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2013, he signed an exclusive talent deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios, the home of The O.C. and Southland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A few months later, in February 2014, it was announced that McKenzie was cast in the pilot of Gotham.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McKenzie returned to Fox in the Batman prequel television show Gotham, which premiered on September 22, 2014. In the series, he portrayed James "Jim" Gordon as a young detective new to Gotham City.<ref name="BenMcKenzie">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:R After five seasons and 100 episodes, the show concluded in April 2019. In the same series, he made his directorial debut with the season 3 episode "These Delicate and Dark Obsessions".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> McKenzie went on to direct "One of My Three Soups" and write "The Demon's Head" from the fourth season.
In 2017, he appeared in the first season of The Accidental Wolf, a miniseries series created by Arian Moayed and the theater production company Waterwell.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He shot Line of Duty, a real-time action thriller, in Birmingham, Alabama in early summer 2018; it was released in 2019.
2019–present: New projects, theater, and filmmaking
Following the conclusion of Gotham in 2019, McKenzie indicated the end of one chapter in his career, turning to new efforts including writing and directing.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref>
On June 24, 2019, McKenzie, along with an ensemble cast, presented The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts, a dramatic reading of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. McKenzie portrayed President Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, as well as Donald Trump Jr.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McKenzie made his Broadway debut on January 23, 2020, in the Second Stage production of Grand Horizons at the Hayes Theater.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> McKenzie starred as Ben, one of two sons struggling with their elderly parents' divorce. A limited-run production, the play began previews on December 23, 2019<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and closed on March 1, 2020. The production was nominated for Best Play at the 2020 Tony Awards, among other honors.
In February 2022, it was announced that McKenzie would star in and produce Bloat, an internationally produced J-horror film.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2023, he was announced as a star in the ABC medical drama pilot The Hurt Unit which was not picked up to series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His next acting project was a supporting role in the action thriller Motor City. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival as part of the Venice Spotlight sidebar and then the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McKenzie began developing an original documentary on predatory cryptocurrency schemes in 2021, with production efforts following the publication of his 2023 book on the subject, Easy Money.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This resulted in the investigative film Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which premiered at SXSW London in June 2025.<ref name=":9" /> McKenzie wrote, directed, and plays a central role within the film, which he directed with filmmaker Giorgio Angelini.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Criticism of cryptocurrency
Commentary
Since 2021, McKenzie has been an outspoken critic of cryptocurrency, especially during its 2020-2022 bubble and subsequent crash.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is noted as one of the few celebrity skeptics of the currency.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As such, he has been particularly critical of the proliferation of celebrity endorsements of unstable cryptocurrencies, their speculation, and NFTs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":5">Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> McKenzie testified at the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing "Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers" in December 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a pundit, McKenzie has also appeared on CNN Business, CNBC, CBS News, and Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss the topic.<ref name=":5" /><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> He has been a guest on podcasts like What Next: TBD, Deconstructed, and Chapo Trap House, and radio programs Marketplace Tech and Morning Edition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
McKenzie attributes his initial interest in the subject to his undergraduate degree in economics and friends' interest in cryptocurrency, as well as coursework on the blockchain from MIT professor and SEC chairman Gary Gensler and Capital in the Twenty-First Century by economist Thomas Piketty.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
Writing and film
McKenzie's debut book Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud with journalist Jacob Silverman was released by Abrams Press on July 18, 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The book includes a claim from McKenzie that the CIA "begged" him to explain cryptocurrency to them.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The book is a New York Times Bestseller and was longlisted for the Financial TimesTemplate:' Business Book of the Year in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
With Silverman, he has written a number of critical articles on crypto for publications including Slate, The New Republic, The Washington Post, and The Intercept.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They had a featured session on the topic at the 2022 SXSW Festival and McKenzie at WSJ Tech Live 2022<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the 2022 Web Summit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McKenzie's cryptocurrency documentary, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, premiered at SXSW in London in June 2025.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
In September 2015, actress Morena Baccarin said in a legal declaration involving her divorce from Austin Chick that she planned to marry her Gotham co-star, McKenzie, adding that she was pregnant with their child.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Their daughter was born <ref name=":7">Template:Cite news</ref> and days later Baccarin and Chick's divorce became official.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Baccarin and McKenzie announced their engagement in November 2016. They were married on June 2, 2017 (Baccarin's 38th birthday) in Brooklyn, New York.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Years later they had a son.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> With Baccarin, McKenzie has one step-son.<ref name=":7" />
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Junebug | Johnny Johnsten | |
| 2007 | 88 Minutes | Mike Stempt | Credited as Benjamin McKenzie |
| 2008 | Every Monday Matters | Himself | Documentary |
| 2008 | Johnny Got His Gun | Joe Bonham | Filmed stage performance |
| 2009 | Template:Sortname | John Keller | Short film |
| 2011 | Batman: Year One | Bruce Wayne / Batman (voice) | |
| 2011 | Template:Sortname | Dave | Short film; also a producer |
| 2012 | Adventures in the Sin Bin | Michael | |
| 2012 | Decoding Annie Parker | Tom | |
| 2013 | Goodbye World | Nick Randworth | |
| 2014 | Some Kind of Beautiful | Brian | |
| 2019 | The Report | Scrubbed CIA Officer | |
| 2019 | Line of Duty | Dean Keller | |
| 2022 | I Want You Back | Leighton's Dad | |
| 2025 | Bloat | Jack | |
| 2025 | Everyone Is Lying to You for Money | Himself | Also director, writer, and producer |
| 2025 | Motor City | Kent |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Template:Sortname | Tim Ruskin | Episode: "Faith" (credited as Benjamin McKenzie) |
| 2003 | JAG | Petty Officer Spencer | Episode: "Empty Quiver" (credited as Benjamin McKenzie) |
| 2003–2007 | The O.C. | Ryan Atwood | 92 episodes |
| 2004 | MADtv | Ryan Atwood | 1 episode |
| 2004–2005 | Punk'd | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2013 | Southland | Ben Sherman | 43 episodes |
| 2011 | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Odnarb (voice) | Episode: "The Wild Brood" |
| 2013 | Men at Work | Bryan | Episode: "Tyler the Pioneer" |
| 2013 | The Advocates | Henry Bird | CBS pilot |
| 2014–2019 | Gotham | James "Jim" Gordon | 100 episodes; director (3 episodes), writer (2 episodes) |
| 2017 | The Accidental Wolf | Webseries | |
| 2023 | The Hurt Unit | Danny | ABC pilot |
Audio
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Phreaks | Audio book<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2023 | Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud | Narrator/co-author | Audio book |
| 2024 | In the Blood | Host | Podcast |
Theater
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Blue Bird | Various | Williamstown Theatre Festival | Credited as Benjamin Schenkkan<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Street Scene | Neighbor | |||
| 2010 | The Glass Menagerie | Jim O'Connor | Mark Taper Forum | |
| 2011 | Marriage | Performer | Atlantic Theater | 10x25 Festival |
| 2019 | The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts | Michael Flynn / Donald Trump Jr. | Riverside Church | Reading |
| 2020 | Grand Horizons | Ben | Hayes Theater | Broadway |
Bibliography
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Breakout TV Star – Male | The O.C. | Template:Nom |
| Choice TV Actor – Drama/Action Adventure | Template:Nom | |||
| 2005 | Choice TV Actor Drama | Template:Nom | ||
| Choice TV Chemistry (shared with Mischa Barton) | Template:Nom | |||
| 2012 | PRISM Award | Male Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline | Template:Center | Template:Nom |
| 2015 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Actor In A New TV Series<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Center | Template:Nom |
| 2016 | Teen Choice Award | Choice TV Actor Drama | Template:Nom | |
| 2019 | Choice Action TV Actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Nom |
References
External links
- Template:IMDb name
- Ben McKenzie at IBDb
- Ben McKenzie at About the Artist
- Template:TV Guide person
- Template:Twitter
Template:S-start Template:Succession box Template:S-end Template:Authority control
- 1978 births
- 21st-century American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- American male television actors
- American male voice actors
- Austin High School (Austin, Texas) alumni
- Living people
- Male actors from Austin, Texas
- People associated with cryptocurrency
- University of Virginia alumni