Ben McKenzie

Ben McKenzie

Born 1978-09-12 (age 47) Austin, Texas, USA
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Biography

Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor 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 Gordon on the crime drama Gotham (2014–2019).

After graduating in Economics and International Relations at the University of Virginia, he moved to New York in order to devote his attention to acting. There he received first in off-Broadway productions different roles, before moving to Los Angeles and was hired there for a starring role in the television series The OC, with the fourth season came to an end on 22 February 2007. For his portrayal of Ryan Atwood in the series he won several awards between 2003 and 2007.

He 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).

He has been married to actress Morena Baccarin since 2017; they have 2 children. His uncle is actor and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan; his second cousin is actress Sarah Drew.

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Known For

88 Minutes
88 Minutes

2007

as Mike Stempt

Batman: Year One
Batman: Year One

2011

as Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice)

Line of Duty
Line of Duty

2019

as Dean Keller

Some Kind of Beautiful
The Report
The Report

2019

as Scrubbed CIA Officer

Junebug
Junebug

2005

as Johnny

I Want You Back
I Want You Back

2022

as Leighton's Dad

Motor City
Motor City

2026

as Kent

Bloat
Bloat

2025

as Jack Reynolds

The Advocates
The Advocates

2013

as Henry Bird

Decoding Annie Parker
Goodbye World
Goodbye World

2013

as Nick

Adventures in the Sin Bin
Johnny Got His Gun
Johnny Got His Gun

2008

as Joe Bonham

Desperate Souls