Benjamin McKenzie Biography

Benjamin McKenzie (born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan on September 12, 1978) is an American actor. He is the star of the television series The O.C., playing Ryan Atwood, a troubled teen who is relocated from Chino, California to Newport Beach, with the help of his lawyer, Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher).

Biography

Benjamin McKenzie grew up in Austin, Texas and attended the University of Virginia, where he majored in Foreign Affairs and Economics. His uncle is the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan. His parents are Pieter Meade Schenkkan and Mary Frances Victory, a prize-winning poet. He started being credited as Ben Mckenzie with the second season of The O.C.

As of 2005, Benjamin McKenzie became the third star of The O.C. to get Punk'd. (His co-star Adam Brody was Punk'd in 2004, Rachel Bilson was tricked by Ashton Kutcher in early 2005, and Mischa Barton is the latest to get punk'd.)

Benjamin McKenzie Biography

Film List

Life is a Dream (Off-Broadway play)
Street Scene (Williamstown Theatre Festival)
The Blue Bird (Williamstown Theatre Festival)
Measure for Measure (University of Virginia)
Zoo Story (University of Virginia)
The O.C. (FOX)
Junebug (Renaissance Films/Sony Pictures Classics)