Ben McKenzie

Ben McKenzie
McKenzie in 2022.
Born
Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan

(1978-09-12) September 12, 1978 (age 46)
Alma materUniversity of Virginia (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • commentator
Years active2002–present
Spouse
(m. 2017)
Children2
RelativesRobert Schenkkan (uncle)

Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978), professionally known as Ben McKenzie, 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.