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Benjamin McKenzie
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| Ben McKenzie | |||||||
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| Born | Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan September 12, 1978 Austin, Texas, United States |
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| Years active | 2000 – present | ||||||
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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.
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Early life
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 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 alumni.
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, 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, 2007.5He is currently working on feature films.6
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".
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.
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.8
He is managed by Management 3609 and the William Morris Agency.10
As of September 2008, McKenzie is gearing up to promote the "live on stage, on film" version of Dalton Trumbo's 1938 novel Johnny Got His Gun, in which he stars as Joe Bonham, a role previously played by James Cagney, Jeff Daniels, and Timothy Bottoms.11
He has also been cast as a rookie cop in a new TV drama entitled LAPD, co-starring Regina Hall and Michael Cudlitz. The show will most likely be a mid-season replacement, or be picked up at the beginning of the Fall 2009 television season.12
Personal life
McKenzie stays active by playing football, the sport being one of his passions. He has also been a long-time Boston Red Sox fan. He is good friends with his O.C. co-stars Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson. He has reported that he is best friends with Mischa Barton. He was romantically linked to Rachel McAdams, Rachel Nichols, Emily VanCamp, Zooey Deschanel, and Amanda Loncar. Although there was little on-screen chemistry between the two, rumors flew that McKenzie dated O.C. costar Mischa Barton, although this has been denied by both parties.
As of 2005[update], 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 Ashton Kutcher's crew members.
McKenzie stated on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show that in early 2008, 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 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. McKenzie has voiced support for Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.13
McKenzie has also volunteered with the Young Storytellers Program for the past few years.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Stanford Prison Experiment | pre-production | |
| Johnny Got His Gun | Joe Bonham | completed | |
| 88 Minutes | Mike Stemp | supporting role | |
| 2005 | Junebug | Johnny Johnsten |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | LAPD | Ben | Lead Role |
| 2003-2007 | The O.C. | Ryan Atwood | 92 episodes: Lead Role |
| 2004 | Mad TV | Ryan | 1 episode |
| 2003 | JAG | Petty Officer Spencer | 1 episode |
| 2002 | The District | Tim Ruskin | 1 episode |
Guest appearances
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Himself | 21 April 2008 |
| 2007 | Punk'd | ||
| Bravo Supershow | |||
| Last Call with Carson Daly | |||
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | |||
| Live with Regis and Kelly | |||
| 2006 | The Tony Danza Show | ||
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | |||
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | |||
| The View | |||
| Total Request Live | |||
| 2005 | Unscripted | ||
| Total Request Live | |||
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | |||
| Late Night with Conan O'Brien | |||
| Live with Regis and Kelly | 2 August 2005 | ||
| Punk'd | Punked by Adam Brody | ||
| Live with Regis and Kelly | 8 February 2005 | ||
| 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 | |||
| 2003 | Pepsi Smash | Host | |
| Late Show with David Letterman | |||
| Live with Regis and Kelly | |||
| Total Request Live | |||
| 2000 | MTV Video Music Awards 2000 | Presenter |
Awards
List of wins and nominations
| Year | Award | Group | Won? | Film/TV show | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (film) | |
| 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
- ^ Junebug's Benjamin McKenzie Retrieved 2007-1-14. People Magazine.
- ^ Benjamin McKenzie at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Before They Were StarsRetrieved 2007-10-14. People Magazine.
- ^ 'The O.C.' Cancelled Due to Poor Ratings. FoxNews.com.
- ^ Benjamin McKenzie-Writers Guild America strike DailyCeleb.com. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
- ^ O.C. 's McKenzie Graduates to Movie RoleRetrieved 2007-10-14. People Magazine
- ^ Benjamin McKenzie Us Weekly Magazine BiographyUs Weekly.
- ^ Benjamin McKenzie set to star in Pacific Air 121. Retrieved 2008-2-4.
- ^ Benjamin McKenzie Variety Retrieved 2008-10-1. Variety (magazine)
- ^ Ben McKenzie inks pact with William Morris Agency Inc Retrieved 2008-2-4.
- ^ Johnny Got His Gun Info Retrieved 2008-2-5.
- ^ New and returning series add character Retrieved 2008-9-8.
- ^ Austin actor McKenzie campaigns for Obama Retrieved 2008-1-2.
External links
- Benjamin McKenzie at the Internet Movie Database
- Benjamin McKenzie at TV.com
- Benjamin McKenzie at People.com
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | McKenzie, Ben |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schenkkan, Benjamin McKenzie |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1978-9-12 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Austin, Texas, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |