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Benjamin McKenzie (born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan; September 12, 1978) is an American actor and producer known for playing Ryan Atwood on the hit television series The O.C., which earned him many Teen Choice Award nominations. He has starred in films such as 88 Minutes and Junebug,^[1] which earned him Sarasota Film Festival nominations and he was also voted one of Teen People's Hottest 25 Stars.

Early life

Family

McKenzie was born in Austin, Texas, the son of Mary Frances (née 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.^[2] McKenzie changed his name for screen-credit purposes because there's an actor named Ben Schenkken registered with the Screen Actors Guild. His paternal grandparents both were theatre actors. His 22-year-old brother Nate is a Yale graduate working in avant-grade theater in New York. His younger brother Zack, 19, is attending Pomona College.

Education

He played football at Austin High School before attending the University of Virginia, where he majored in Foreign Affairs and Economics.

Career

Acting career

He got into acting during his first few years at the university, 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.^[3]

In August 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.The O.C. dropped in ratings dramatically during its third and fourth seasons, and ended in early 2007.^[4]

In November 2007, McKenzie supported the Writers Guild of America West solidarity march in Hollywood on November 13. The strike started on November 5, 2007.^[5]He is currently working on feature films.^[6] McKenzie appeared in Jack's Mannequin video, "The Mixed Tape".

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. In 2007, McKenzie appeared in Junebug alongside Amy Adams and Embeth Davidtz. The film was nominated for "Best International Film" and "Outstanding Ensemble Acting" in The Amanda and also received high praise at the Sundance Film Festival.^[7] McKenzie's early appearances included The District, JAG and Mad TV, after that he starred in 88 Minutes, which won the Sarasota Film Festival for "Outstanding Ensemble Acting". He appeared in a OC-themed Got Milk? ad with the cast of The O.C..

As a result to the show's success, McKenzie appeared on the covers of magazines including People, In Touch Weekly and Us Weekly. McKenzie was voted one of Teen People's Hottest 25 Stars Under 25 in 2004 and 2003. McKenzie was ranked No. 5 in Independent Online's "100 Sexiest Men Alive", was twice placed on Teen People'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. In 2005, McKenzie was the face of Prada's Male perfume and clothing line. McKenzie later appeared in a "Got Milk?" ad photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

McKenzie has volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program. McKenzie was considered for the role of Link Larkin in the 2007 musical film Hairspray, but did not accept the offer because of conflicts with The O.C. The role eventually went to [Zac Efron]]. According to Production Weekly, McKenzie was set to act in the thriller Snakes On A Plane, formerly known as Pacific Air 121, but later dropped out to film 88 Minutes.^[8] McKenzie helped produce 16 episodes in season 4 of The O.C.. He also co-produced 88 Minutes.

He is managed by Management 360^[9] and the William Morris Agency.^[10] McKenzie is set to star in a film version of Dalton Trumbo's 1938 novel Johnny Got His Gun.^[11]

Personal life

McKenzie enjoys skiing, snowboarding, and football and used to compete in national football competitions. He is good friends with his O.C. co-stars Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson, and has said that he is "best friends" with Mischa Barton. He was romantically linked to Rachel McAdams, Rachel Nichols, Emily VanCamp and Amanda Loncar. Due to their on-screen-chemistry, rumours had it that in 2003 McKenzie dated The OC-costar Mischa Barton. However this was denied equally, fans assumed that they didn't let it out, due to the fact that Barton was 17, McKenzie 24 years old, which if they would've admitted their romance, would have made him liable to prosecution.

McKenzie supports Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.^[12]

As of 2005, he became 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 Kutcher's crew members. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention and in support of presidential candidate Senator John F. Kerry, McKenzie gave a speech appealing to young Americans to go out and vote. During the Democratic primary season, he visted numerous college campuses such as The University of Texas at Austin with actress Kerry Washington endorsing Barack Obama and encouraging students to vote. He is also known to be a Boston Red Sox fan and enjoys baseball. He stated on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show that he has adopted an abandoned Pitbull, named Oscar.

Filmography

Films

Television

Guest appearances

Production

Awards

List of wins and nominations

Further reading

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

References

External links

• Benjamin McKenzie at the Internet Movie Database
• Benjamin McKenzie at TV.com
• Benjamin McKenzie at People.com