Ben McKenzie

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. His book on the subject, Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, was written with journalist Jacob Silverman and published in July 2023. He directed and produced the investigative documentary film Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which was released in April 2026.

• Name — Ben McKenzie • Birth Name — Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan • Born — 12 September 1978 • Birthplace — Austin, Texas, U.S. • Education — University of Virginia (BA) • Occupation — * Actor • commentator • Years Active — 2002–present • Children — 2 • Relatives — Robert Schenkkan (uncle)

McKenzie was born in Austin, Texas. He is one of three sons born to Frances Schenkkan, a poet, and Pete Schenkkan, an attorney. He has two younger brothers, both of whom are former actors. He is the brother-in-law of photojournalist Scout Tufankjian. His grandfather, Robert F. Schenkkan, was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and worked on passing the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. He is a nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan; McKenzie appeared in his 2019 work The Investigation. His middle name, McKenzie, is his paternal grandmother's maiden name; he uses it as part of his stage name to avoid confusion with actor Ben Shenkman. His second cousin is actress Sarah Drew. For middle school, he attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where he was friends and flag football teammates with future Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. He attended Stephen F. Austin High School, playing wide receiver and defensive back for the school's football team. From 1997 to 2001 he attended the University of Virginia, his father and paternal grandfather's alma mater, graduating in 2001 with an undergraduate degree in foreign affairs and economics.

After graduating from college in 2001, McKenzie moved to New York City where he worked in part-time jobs and performed in some off-off-Broadway productions. During this period, he also participated in summer stock theater and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. At age 23, he moved to Los Angeles where he waited tables and slept on the floor of his friend Ernie Sabella's apartment. He was soon cast as Ryan Atwood in The O.C. On August 5, 2003, Fox premiered the television series, about affluent teenagers with stormy personal lives in Orange County, California. The show became an overnight success and made McKenzie famous. His performance in The O.C. earned him "Choice Breakout TV Star – Male" and "Choice TV Chemistry" nominations in the Teen Choice Awards as well as "Choice TV Actor – Drama/Action Adventure" and "Choice TV Actor – Drama" wins. McKenzie reportedly earned between about $15,000 and $25,000 per episode throughout the show's run. The O.C. was the first time McKenzie played what The New York Times later described as the "quiet, guarded leading man" role he would repeatedly portray. As a result of the show's success, McKenzie appeared in magazines including People, In Touch Weekly and Us Weekly. He was ranked No. 5 in Independent Online's "100 Sexiest Men Alive" and twice appeared on Teen People magazine's annual list of "25 Sexiest Stars under 25". McKenzie was also voted one of InStyles "10 Hottest Bachelors of Summer" in July 2005. The O.C. dropped in ratings dramatically during its third and fourth seasons, and ended in early 2007. While appearing in The O.C., McKenzie made his feature film debut in the Academy Award-nominated film Junebug alongside Amy Adams and Embeth Davidtz. The film was nominated for "Best International Film" and "Outstanding Ensemble Acting" in the Amanda Awards and won the Sarasota Film Festival award for "Outstanding Ensemble Acting". It also received high praise at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. 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, which starred Al Pacino.

In 2008, McKenzie earned critical acclaim for his solo performance in the "live on stage, on film" version of Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel Johnny Got His Gun, his first starring role in a film. He stars as Joe Bonham, a role previously played by James Cagney, Jeff Daniels, and Timothy Bottoms. The movie premiered at the Paramount Theater in Austin, McKenzie's hometown, while he was filming the pilot for Southland. In 2009, he appeared in the short film The Eight Percent. The movie won the Delta Air Lines Fly-in Movie Contest and entered as an official selection on the Tribeca Film Festival's Short film category. McKenzie starred as rookie police officer Ben Sherman on the NBC drama Southland, which premiered on April 9, 2009. The show was canceled while in production on its second season. TNT bought the rights for the show and showed the seven episodes that had been produced. The show was subsequently renewed and ran for five seasons before being canceled in 2013. From September to October 2010, he starred in an off-Broadway transfer of The Glass Menagerie at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Following the end of Southland, McKenzie was cast in the CBS drama television pilot The Advocates, opposite Mandy Moore. The show was not produced. In late 2013, he was cast in the drama film The Swimmer, a Norwegian production that was not produced. In October 2013, he signed an exclusive talent deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios, the home of The O.C. and Southland. A few months later, in February 2014, it was announced that McKenzie was cast in the pilot of Gotham. McKenzie returned to Fox in the Batman prequel television show Gotham, which premiered on September 22, 2014. In the series, he portrayed James "Jim" Gordon as a young detective new to Gotham City. After five seasons and 100 episodes, the show concluded in April 2019. In the same series, he made his directorial debut with the season 3 episode "These Delicate and Dark Obsessions". McKenzie went on to direct "One of My Three Soups" and write "The Demon's Head" from the fourth season. In 2017, he appeared in the first season of The Accidental Wolf, a miniseries series created by Arian Moayed and the theater production company Waterwell. He shot Line of Duty, a real-time action thriller, in Birmingham, Alabama in early summer 2018; it was released in 2019.

Since 2021, McKenzie has been an outspoken critic of cryptocurrency, especially during its 2020–2022 bubble and subsequent crash. At that time, he was noted as one of the few celebrity skeptics of the currency. As such, he has been particularly critical of the proliferation of celebrity endorsements of unstable cryptocurrencies, their speculation, and NFTs. McKenzie testified at the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing "Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers" in December 2022. On July 14, 2026 he joined Democratic Senators in a press conference on Capitol Hill to argue for inclusion of ethics provisions in a proposed cryptocurrency regulation bill named the Clarity Act, to prevent public officials, and specifically President Trump, from cashing in on crypto exchanges while simultaneously forming public policy. With journalist Jacob Silverman, he has written a number of critical articles on crypto for publications including Slate, The New Republic, The Washington Post, and The Intercept. They had a featured session on the topic at the 2022 SXSW Festival and McKenzie at WSJ Tech Live 2022 and the 2022 Web Summit. As a pundit, McKenzie has also appeared on CNN Business, CNBC, CBS News, and Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss the topic. He has been a guest on podcasts like What Next: TBD, Deconstructed, Chapo Trap House, and The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart and radio programs Marketplace Tech and Morning Edition. McKenzie attributes his initial interest in the subject to his undergraduate degree in economics and friends' interest in cryptocurrency, as well as coursework on the blockchain from MIT professor and SEC chairman Gary Gensler and Capital in the Twenty-First Century by economist Thomas Piketty.

McKenzie is married to actress Morena Baccarin. Together they have two children, a daughter and a son, in addition to a stepson from Baccarin's first marriage. Together, the family lives in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn. In the 2010s, they lived in Battery Park City in Manhattan. McKenzie and Baccarin met as co-stars in Gotham, and their relationship and intent to marry was first revealed as part of a September 2015 legal declaration involving her divorce from Austin Chick. Following the birth of their first child and the finalization of Baccarin's divorce in March 2016, the two married on June 2, 2017, in Brooklyn, New York. McKenzie is a supporter of the Democratic Party and has been aligned with Democratic politics throughout his career. At the height of The OC, he delivered remarks at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and he supported the 2020 Turn Texas Blue campaign, as well as various other statements, advocacy efforts, and fundraising initiatives.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2002 — The — Tim Ruskin — Episode: "Faith" (credited as Benjamin McKenzie) • 2003 — JAG — Petty Officer Spencer — Episode: "Empty Quiver" (credited as Benjamin McKenzie) • 2003–2007 — The O.C. — Ryan Atwood — 92 episodes • 2004 — MADtv — 1 episode • 2004–2005 — Punk'd — Himself — 2 episodes • 2009–2013 — Southland — Ben Sherman — 43 episodes • 2011 — Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated — Odnarb (voice) — Episode: "The Wild Brood" • 2013 — Men at Work — Bryan — Episode: "Tyler the Pioneer" • The Advocates — Henry Bird — CBS pilot • 2014–2019 — Gotham — James "Jim" Gordon — 100 episodes; director (3 episodes), writer (2 episodes) • 2017 — The Accidental Wolf — Webseries • 2023 — The Hurt Unit — Danny — ABC pilot • 2026 — Real Time with Bill Maher — Himself — Invited to discuss cryptocurrency and his 2025 documentary Everyone is Lying to You for Money. • TBA — Sheriff Country — Sheriff Wade — Guest role, upcoming season • TBA — Myron Bolitar — Gavin Pierce — Recurring role, upcoming series

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2020 — Phreaks — Narrator — Audio book • 2023 — Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud — Narrator/co-author • 2024 — In the Blood — Host — Podcast

• Year — Title — Role — Venue — Notes — Ref. • 2001 — The Blue Bird — Various — Williamstown Theatre Festival — Credited as Benjamin Schenkkan • Street Scene — Neighbor • 2010 — The Glass Menagerie — Jim O'Connor — Mark Taper Forum • 2011 — Marriage — Performer — Atlantic Theater — 10x25 Festival • 2019 — The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts — Michael Flynn / Donald Trump Jr. — Riverside Church — Reading • 2020 — Grand Horizons — Ben — Hayes Theater — Broadway

Ben McKenzie was recorded at birth as Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan. The authorities additionally record the headings Benjamin McKenzie, Ben mckenzie and Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan. His recorded language was English. He was the child of Pete Schenkkan. He married Morena Baccarin. Other recorded relations include Robert Schenkkan.

McKenzie's debut book Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud with journalist Jacob Silverman was released by Abrams Press on July 18, 2023. The book includes a claim from McKenzie that the CIA "begged" him to explain cryptocurrency to them. The book is a New York Times Bestseller and was longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year in 2023. While researching the book, McKenzie began working on what would become his film directorial debut. His cryptocurrency documentary, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, premiered at SXSW in London in June 2025. The film was released in theaters in April 2026.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2005 — Junebug — Johnny Johnsten • 2007 — 88 Minutes — Mike Stempt — Credited as Benjamin McKenzie • 2008 — Every Monday Matters — Himself — Documentary • Johnny Got His Gun — Joe Bonham — Filmed stage performance • 2009 — The — John Keller — Short film • 2011 — Batman: Year One — Bruce Wayne / Batman (voice) • The — Dave — Short film; also a producer • 2012 — Adventures in the Sin Bin — Michael • Decoding Annie Parker — Tom • 2013 — Goodbye World — Nick Randworth • 2014 — Some Kind of Beautiful — Brian • 2019 — The Report — Scrubbed CIA Officer • Line of Duty — Dean Keller • 2022 — I Want You Back — Leighton's Dad • 2025 — Bloat — Jack • Everyone Is Lying to You for Money — Himself — Documentary; also director, writer, and producer • Motor City — Kent