Ben_McKenzie

Ben McKenzie

Ben McKenzie

American actor (born 1978)


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.

Quick Facts Born, Alma mater ...

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

Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan was born in Austin, Texas.[1] He is one of three sons born to Frances Schenkkan, a poet, and Pete Schenkkan, an attorney.[2][3] He has two younger brothers, both of whom are former actors.[3][4] He is the brother-in-law of photojournalist Scout Tufankjian.[5]

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.[6][7] He is a nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan;[6] 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.[8] His second cousin is actress Sarah Drew.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12][13] During this period, he also participated in summer stock theater and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.[13]

At age twenty-three,[14] he moved to Los Angeles where he waited tables and slept on the floor of his friend Ernie Sabella's apartment.[15][12] He was soon cast as Ryan Atwood in The O.C.[12] 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.[12] 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.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18]

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.[19] 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.[20]

Following the end of Southland, McKenzie was cast in the CBS drama television pilot The Advocates, opposite Mandy Moore.[21] The show was not produced. In late 2013, he was cast in the drama film The Swimmer, a Norwegian production that was not produced.[22] In October 2013, he signed an exclusive talent deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios, the home of The O.C. and Southland.[23] A few months later, in February 2014, it was announced that McKenzie was cast in the pilot of Gotham.[24]

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.[25][12] 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".[26] 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.[27] 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 and theater

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.[28]

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.[29]

McKenzie made his Broadway debut on January 23, 2020, in the Second Stage production of Grand Horizons at the Hayes Theater.[30] 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[31] and closed on March 1, 2020. In February 2022, it was announced that McKenzie would star in and produce Bloat, an internationally produced J-horror film.[32] 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.[33][34]

Criticism of cryptocurrency

Ben McKenzie Twitter
@ben_mckenzie

I'm just a former teen idol standing here (alone?) asking people to consider downside risk and the possibility of fraud. I hope I'm wrong, but pretty sure we'll find out soon enough. Good luck folks - don't take financial advice from celebs, including me.

February 4, 2022[35]

Since 2021, McKenzie has been an outspoken critic of cryptocurrency.[36][37][38][39] He is noted as one of the few celebrity skeptics of the technology.[40][41][42] As such, he has been particularly critical of the proliferation of celebrity endorsements of unstable cryptocurrencies, their speculation, and NFTs.[43][44][45] 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.[46]

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.[47][48] [49] The book includes a claim from McKenzie that the CIA "begged" him to explain cryptocurrency to them.[50] 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.[51][52][53][54][55] They had a featured session on the topic at the 2022 SXSW Festival and McKenzie at WSJ Tech Live 2022[56] and the 2022 Web Summit.[57] As of 2023, he is working on a documentary on the subject.[58][59]

As a pundit, McKenzie has also appeared on CNN Business, CNBC, CBS News, and Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss the topic.[44][60][61][62][63][64] He has been a guest on podcasts like What Next: TBD, Deconstructed, and Chapo Trap House, and radio programs Marketplace Tech and Morning Edition.[65][66][67][68][69]

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.[36][37][38]

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.[70][71] Their daughter Frances Laiz Setta was born on March 2, 2016.[72] Sixteen days later, on March 18, Baccarin and Chick's divorce became official.[73] Baccarin and McKenzie announced their engagement in November 2016. They were married on June 2, 2017 (Baccarin's 38th birthday) in Brooklyn, New York.[74] They announced the birth of their son Arthur in March 2021.[75] With Baccarin, McKenzie has one step-son, Julius.[72]

Filmography

Film

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Television

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Audio

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Theater

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Bibliography

  • McKenzie, Ben; Silverman, Jacob (2023). Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. Abrams Press. ISBN 978-1-4197-6639-8. OCLC 1338834619.

Awards and nominations

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References

  1. "Benjamin McKenzie". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  2. "Pieter Meade Schenkkan (Attorney)". PlainSite. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  3. "Barnes: Pete Schenkkan is a poet of the law". Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas. January 28, 2013. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. His wife, Frances Victory Schenkkan, is a prize-winning poet. One son, Ben McKenzie, who opted to use his middle name, sizzles on the TV cop drama Southland after melting hearts on The O.C. His other sons, both former actors, are involved in nonprofits and the law.
  4. "Nate Schenkkan | WP Theater". Women's Project Theater. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  5. "Robert Schenkkan Obituary - Austin, TX". Legacy. Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  6. Powers, William; Greninger, Sue Alexander. "In Memoriam: Robert F. Schenkkan". The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  7. "A brush with greatness - why I want Drew Brees to win tonight" Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, texascollegetennis.com; retrieved March 8, 2010.
  8. "Before Batman". U.Va. Magazine. University of Virginia Alumni Association. Winter 2014.
  9. Hale, Mike (November 23, 2014). "Sometimes, Old-Fashioned Pays Off". The New York Times. pp. AR19. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  10. McHenry, Jackson (January 23, 2020). "With Grand Horizons, Ben McKenzie Is Getting Back Into Theater". Vulture. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  11. Ben McKenzie on Final Season of Gotham, archived from the original on November 18, 2021, retrieved January 23, 2020
  12. Behind the Scenes: Casting The O.C. Ben McKenzie Peter Gallagher Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, archived from the original on November 18, 2021, retrieved January 23, 2020
  13. "'The O.C.' Cancelled Due to Poor Ratings". Fox News. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  14. "Benjamin McKenzie". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on March 12, 2008.
  15. "Benjamin McKenzie set to star in Pacific Air 121". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
  16. "Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun" (PDF). Variety. October 13, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  17. David Ng (August 12, 2010). "Ben McKenzie of 'Southland' and 'The O.C.' to star in 'Glass Menagerie' at Mark Taper Forum". LA Times Blogs - Culture Monster. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  18. Andreeva, Nellie (March 14, 2013). "Mandy Moore To Star In CBS Drama Pilot 'The Advocates'". Deadline. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  19. Murray, Rebecca (September 9, 2013). "Ben McKenzie Joins The Swimmer Cast". ShowbizJunkies. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  20. Andreeva, Nellie (October 17, 2013). "Ben McKenzie Inks Warner Bros TV Deal". Deadline. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  21. Goldberg, Lesley (February 8, 2014). "Fox's Batman Prequel 'Gotham' Taps 'Southland's' Ben McKenzie as Gordon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  22. Andreeva, Nellie (February 8, 2014). "Ben McKenzie to Star As Detective James Gordon in Fox's Batman Series 'Gotham'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  23. "The Accidental Wolf - Cast | TVmaze". www.tvmaze.com. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  24. Boucher, Geoff (April 26, 2019). "Beyond 'Gotham': Ben McKenzie Goes Off Script To Focus On New Direction As Fox Series Ends". Deadline. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  25. "Law Works: The Investigation". June 24, 2019. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  26. "Second Stage Theater". 2st.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  27. "Grand Horizons". Internet Broadway Database. January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  28. Vourlias, Christopher (February 11, 2022). "Ben McKenzie, Bojana Novakovic Board J-Horror Pic 'Bloat' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  29. Andreeva, Nellie (February 14, 2023). "Ben McKenzie To Headline ABC Pilot 'The Hurt Unit'". Deadline. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  30. Goldberg, Lesley (June 9, 2023). "ABC Passes on Four Pilots, While 'Good Doctor,' 'Rookie' Spinoffs Still in Play". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  31. Yaffe-Bellany, David (March 31, 2022). "Ben McKenzie Would Like a Word With the Crypto Bros". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  32. Read, Bridget (March 1, 2022). "Ben McKenzie, Actor Turned Crypto Naysayer". The Cut. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  33. McKenzie, Ben; Silverman, Jacob (October 7, 2021). "Celebrity Crypto Shilling Is a Moral Disaster". Slate Magazine. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  34. Sharma, Ruchira (March 16, 2022). "What's a 'Nocoiner'? Inside the World of Crypto Sceptics". Vice. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  35. McCullar 3, Emily (March 16, 2022). "Can 'O.C.' Star Ben McKenzie Get Me to Care About Crypto? An Experiment". Texas Monthly. Retrieved June 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. Harris, Malcolm (November 11, 2022). "The Rise of Influencer Capital". Intelligencer. Retrieved November 17, 2022. ...spawning the era's first celebrity anti-promoter, actor Ben McKenzie, who began speaking out against the crypto space in general and endorsements from his fellow celebrities in particular
  37. Beer, Jeff (November 13, 2022). "The FTX collapse is a harsh lesson in hype advertising". Fast Company. Retrieved November 17, 2022. ...the complexities of using advertising methods typically familiar in consumer packaged goods or entertainment for something as new and confusing as crypto [...] This is something that Ben McKenzie (yep, Ryan from The O.C.) also warned of early on.
  38. McKenzie, Ben (July 17, 2023). "CIA Agents Begged Ben McKenzie, of All People, to Explain Crypto to Them". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  39. "Ben McKenzie". Slate Magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  40. "Author: Ben McKenzie". The New Republic. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  41. McKenzie, Ben; Silverman, Jacob (April 1, 2022). "Perspective | Why users are pushing back against the world's largest crypto exchange". Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  42. McKenzie, Ben; Silverman, Jacob (May 27, 2022). "Spring cleaning 2022: Cryptocurrency". The Washington Post.
  43. Silverman, Jacob; McKenzie, Ben (July 22, 2022). "El Salvador's Embrace of Bitcoin Didn't Bring Prosperity — It Rode in With Waves of Repression". The Intercept. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  44. Highfill, Samantha (August 23, 2023). "Ben McKenzie says writing 'Easy Money' changed his view of the world". EW.com. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  45. Video: 'OC' actor Ben McKenzie on Kim Kardashian's SEC fine on CNN Nightcap, CNN Business, October 6, 2022, retrieved November 12, 2022
  46. Slate Daily Feed. "What Next TBD: Why Does Matt Damon Want Me to Buy Crypto?". Listen Notes. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  47. Deconstructed. "Is Crypto a Big Scam? - Deconstructed (podcast)". Listen Notes. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  48. Chapo Trap House. "626 - Simian Slurp feat. Ben McKenzie (5/9/22) – Chapo Trap House – Podcast". Podtail. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  49. Marketplace Tech. "El Salvador citizens mostly avoid bitcoin, despite government adoption". Listen Notes. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  50. Martinez, A (December 14, 2022). "Lawmakers on Capitol Hill hold hearings into the failed cryptocurrency giant FTX". NPR.org. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  51. Gomez, Patrick (September 21, 2015). "Gotham's Morena Baccarin and Benjamin McKenzie Dating". People. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  52. Mandell, Andrea (March 11, 2016). "Exclusive: Morena Baccarin, Ben McKenzie welcome baby girl". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  53. "Morena Baccarin Officially Divorced". E! News. March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  54. Jordan, Julie; Stone, Natalie (June 7, 2017). "Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie Are Married!". People. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  55. Campione, Katie (March 9, 2021). "Morena Baccarin and Husband Ben McKenzie Welcome Son Arthur: '2021 Is Looking Up'". People. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  56. Miska, Brad (October 3, 2022). "'Bloat' – Screenlife J-Horror Wraps Production in Japan! [Image]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  57. "Audiobooks narrated by Ben McKenzie | Audible.com". www.audible.com. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  58. "Ben Schenkkan". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  59. "People's Choice Awards 2015 hosts, nominees announced". CBS News. November 4, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  60. Moreau, Jordan (June 19, 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame,' 'Riverdale,' 'Aladdin' Top 2019 Teen Choice Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
Preceded by James Gordon Actor
2014 – 2019
With: J. K. Simmons in DCEU
Succeeded by

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