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Full Name:Benjamin McKenzie
Date of Birth: September 12, 1978
Place of Birth: Austin, Texas
Father: Pete Schenkkan, attorney
Mother: Frances Schenkkan, writer
Brother(s): Nate, younger; Yale graduate working in NY theater;
Zach, younger; currently attending Pomona College
Education: University of Virginia; B.A. in Foreign Affairs and Economics; graduated 2001;
Austin High School, graduated 1997
Claim to Fame: Plays outsider Ryan Atwood on Fox's teen drama The O.C.

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Benjamin McKenzie Biography

Benjamin McKenzie
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Ben McKenzie
Born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan
September 12, 1978 (1978-09-12) (age 30)
Austin, Texas, United States
Years active 2000 – present

Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan, known as Benjamin McKenzie (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for playing Ryan Atwood in the hit television series The O.C., which earned him many Teen Choice Award nominations. He appeared in the films 88 Minutes and Junebug,1 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 Gun2 which garnered excellent reviews for his solo performance.

He currently stars in the NBC police drama series, Southland, in which he plays a police officer named Ben Sherman.

Contents

Early years

McKenzie was born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan, in Austin, Texas to Mary Frances Victory, a prize-winning poet, and Pieter Meade Schenkkan. His uncle is the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan. McKenzie is the second cousin of actress Sarah Drew.3 McKenzie changed his name for screen-credit purposes because there is an actor named Ben Schenkken registered with the Screen Actors Guild. His paternal grandparents both were theatre actors. His younger brother Nate is a Yale graduate working in avant-grade theater in New York. His youngest brother Zack is a Pomona College alumnus.

He attended Austin High School, and played 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.

Career

He got into acting during his first few years at the University of Virginia, and moved to Los Angeles in late 2001 to look for acting opportunities. While in New York he appeared off-Broadway in Life is a Dream at the SoHo Rep. Additionally, he performed in numerous productions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, including Street Scene and The Blue Bird, and at the University of Virginia in Measure for Measure and Zoo Story. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he landed a lead role in The O.C.4

McKenzie's early TV appearances included The District, JAG and Mad TV.

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.

As a result to 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 2007.5

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.6 He also appeared in a pivotal role in the 2007 film 88 Minutes, which starred Al Pacino. 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.7

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.8 The movie premiered at the Paramount Theater in Austin, TX, McKenzie's hometown, while he was filming the pilot for Southland.

He is currently starring as rookie police officer Ben Sherman on the NBC drama Southland, which premiered on April 9, 2009.

He is managed by Management 3609 and the William Morris Agency.10

Personal life

McKenzie stays out of the limelight, preferring a private life to that of his OC co-stars. He stays active by playing football, the sport being one of his passions. He has also been a long-time Boston Red Sox fan.

He was rumored to have dated actresses Rachel McAdams, Emily VanCamp, Zooey Deschanel, Amanda Loncar, Arielle Kebbel, and OC co-star Mischa Barton (both parties have denied).

McKenzie was the third star of The O.C. to appear on Punk'd. He set up his co-star Adam Brody in 2004, and he appeared again on Punk'd in 2005, this time getting punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew members.

In April 2008, he revealed on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show that in February of that year, he adopted an abandoned Pitbull, named Oscar, who had previously been used as a bait dog in dog-fighting. He named the dog after Oscar Madison from The Odd Couple, because the dog reminded him of an old man. McKenzie told Ellen DeGeneres that he later realized that naming a dog Oscar was one of the most pretentious things an actor could do.

Political and community volunteer work

During his sophomore year at the University of Virginia, McKenzie worked as an intern in the office of Austin congressman Lloyd Doggett.

During the 2004 Democratic National Convention, McKenzie gave a speech appealing to young Americans to go out and vote. He was also involved in the Rock the Vote movement in 2004, supporting Senator John F. Kerry.

During the 2008 Democratic primary season, he visited numerous college campuses such as The University of Texas at Austin with actress Kerry Washington endorsing Barack Obama and encouraging students to vote. 11

McKenzie has also volunteered with the Young Storytellers Program for the past few years. He also supports the charity Invisible Children Inc., which focuses on rescuing Ugandan child soldiers.

Filmography

Films

Year Movie Role Other notes
2005 Junebug Johnny Johnsten
2008 88 Minutes Mike Stempt Supporting role
Johnny Got His Gun Joe Bonham
2010 The Stanford Prison Experiment TBA Announced

Television

Year Show Role Other notes
2002 The District Tim Ruskin 1 episode
2003 JAG Petty Officer Spencer 1 episode
2003-2007 The O.C. Ryan Atwood 92 episodes: Lead Role
2004 MADtv Ryan Atwood 1 episode
2009 Southland Ben Sherman 6 episodes

Guest appearances

Year Show Role Other notes
2003 Pepsi Smash Host
Late Show with David Letterman
Live with Regis and Kelly
Total Request Live
2004 Late Show with David Letterman
Teen Choice Awards
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Last Call with Carson Daly
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Punk'd
The O.C.: A Day in the Life
The O.C.: Obsess Completely
2005 Unscripted
Total Request Live
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Live with Regis and Kelly February 8
Punk'd Punked by Adam Brody
Live with Regis and Kelly August 2
2006 The Tony Danza Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Teen Choice Awards
The View
Total Request Live
2007 Punk'd
Bravo Supershow
Last Call with Carson Daly
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Live with Regis and Kelly
2008 The Ellen DeGeneres Show April 21
2009 The Ellen DeGeneres Show April 2

Awards

List of wins and nominations
Year Award Group Result Film/TV show
2004 Teen Choice Award Choice TV Chemistry Nominated The O.C.
Choice Breakout TV Star - Male Nominated
Choice TV Show - Drama/Action Adventure Won
Choice TV Actor: Drama Won
Choice Breakout TV Show Won
TCA Award Outstanding New Program Nominated
2005 Teen Choice Award Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure Won
Choice Breakout TV Star - Male Won
Choice TV Chemistry (with Mischa Barton) Nominated
Logie Awards Most Popular Overseas Program Won
BMI Awards Outstanding Performance in TV series Nominated
Teen Choice Award Choice TV Show: Drama Won
CMI Cable Awards Breakthrough performance in TV series Won
People's Choice Award Favorite Television Drama Nominated
2006 Sarasota Film Festival Outstanding Ensemble Acting Won 88 Minutes
Teen Choice Award TV - Choice Drama/Action Adventure Show Won The O.C.
2007 Amanda (award) Outstanding Performance in Feature Film Won Junebug
Prism Awards Performance in a Drama Series Episode Nominated The O.C.
BRAVO Gold Otto (Germany) Best Male Actor Won The O.C.

Further reading

  • Romano, Mary (2005). Benjamin McKenzie: Rising Star. Triumph. ISBN 1573436892. 

References

External links