Ben McKenzie
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...
on the teen drama ''
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'' (2003–2007), Ben Sherman on the crime drama ''
Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...
'' (2009–2013), and James 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 ''88 Minutes'' is a 2007 thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, Neal McDonough and Benjamin McKenzie. In the film, famed forensic psychiatris ...
'' (2007), ''
Goodbye World ''Goodbye World'' is a 2013 American apocalyptic film directed, co-written and co-produced by Denis Henry Hennelly. It stars Kerry Bishé, Caroline Dhavernas, Adrian Grenier, Gaby Hoffmann, Ben McKenzie, Scott Mescudi and Mark Webber. It follo ...
'' (2013), ''
Some Kind of Beautiful ''Some Kind of Beautiful'' (Canadian title: ''How to Make Love Like an Englishman'', UK title: ''Lessons in Love'', European title: '' Teach Me Love'') is a 2014 American romantic comedy film written by Matthew Newman, directed by Tom Vaughan, a ...
'' (2014), and ''
Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural television series created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions. On 26 June 2012, BBC Two began to broadcast the first series; it was its best-performing drama series in ten years wit ...
'' (2019). In 2020, he made his Broadway debut in the
Bess Wohl Bess Wohl is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress whose plays include ''Grand Horizons'', ''Small Mouth Sounds'', and the book for the musical ''Pretty Filthy'' with composer/lyricist Michael Friedman and The Civilians. Early life W ...
play ''Grand Horizons''. Outside of acting, McKenzie is noted for his critical commentary on the
cryptocurrency bubble A cryptocurrency bubble is a phenomenon where the market increasingly considers the going price of cryptocurrency assets to be inflated against their hypothetical value. The history of cryptocurrency has been marked by several speculative bubble ...
and
fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
with journalist Jacob Silverman. Their forthcoming book on the subject, ''Easy Money'', will be published in 2023.


Early life and education

Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan was born in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. He is of
Dutch-Jewish The history of the Jews in the Netherlands began largely in the 16th century when they began to settle in Amsterdam and other cities. It has continued to the present. During the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the ...
, Scottish, and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
descent. 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 Scout Tufankjian is an Armenian-American photojournalist and author based in Brooklyn, New York. She is well known for her photos of American President Barack Obama during his campaign leading up to his presidency. She is also known for her photoj ...
. His grandfather, Robert F. Schenkkan was a professor at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
and worked on passing the
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 () issued the congressional corporate charter for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private nonprofit corporation funded by taxpayers to disburse grants to public broadcasters in the United Sta ...
. Notably, he is a nephew of
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning playwright
Robert Schenkkan Robert Frederic Schenkkan Jr. (born March 19, 1953) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1992 for his play '' The Kentucky Cycle'' and his play ''All the Way'' earned the 2014 Tony Award ...
; McKenzie appeared in his 2019 work ''
The Investigation ''The Investigation'' (original title ''Śledztwo'') is a science fiction/ detective/ thriller novel by the Polish writer Stanisław Lem. The novel incorporates a philosophical discourse on explanation of unknown phenomena. It was first publis ...
''. His middle name, McKenzie, is his paternal grandmother's maiden name; he uses it as part of his
stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
to avoid confusion with actor
Ben Shenkman Benjamin Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series ''Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Gl ...
. For middle school, he attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where he was friends and
flag football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...
teammates with future Super Bowl MVP
Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is the NFL leader in ...
. 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 The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
, his father and paternal grandfather's '' alma mater'', where he majored in
foreign affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
and
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
.


Acting career


2001–2007: Early career and ''The O.C.''

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 Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...
productions. During this period, he also participated in
summer stock theater In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...
and the
Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. I ...
. At age twenty-three 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 Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...
in ''
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'' On August 5, 2003,
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
premiered the television series, about affluent teenagers with stormy personal lives in
Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
. 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 The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...
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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' 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 A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
,
In Touch Weekly ''In Touch Weekly'' is an American celebrity gossip magazine. The magazine is focused on celebrity news, fashion, beauty, relationships and lifestyle, and is geared towards a younger readership, billing itself as "fast and fun", along with making ...
'' and ''
Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...
''. He was ranked No. 5 in
Independent Online ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in 2003. The last p ...
'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 Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
and
Embeth Davidtz Embeth Jean Davidtz (born August 11, 1965) is an American-South African actress. Her screen roles include movies such as ''Army of Darkness'', ''Schindler's List, '' ''Matilda'', ''Mansfield Park'', ''Bicentennial Man'', ''Fallen,'' '' Junebug,' ...
. The film was nominated for "Best International Film" and "Outstanding Ensemble Acting" in the Amanda Awards and won the
Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and is held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-lo ...
award for "Outstanding Ensemble Acting". It also received high praise at the 2005
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. According to ''Production Weekly'', McKenzie was set to star in the thriller ''
Snakes on a Plane ''Snakes on a Plane'' is a 2006 American action film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. It was released by New Line Cinema on August 18, 2006, in North America. The film was written by David Dalessandro, John Heffernan ...
'', formerly known as ''Pacific Air 121'', but later dropped out to film ''
88 Minutes ''88 Minutes'' is a 2007 thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, Neal McDonough and Benjamin McKenzie. In the film, famed forensic psychiatris ...
'', which starred
Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...
.


2007–2019: ''Southland'' and ''Gotham''

In 2008, McKenzie earned critical acclaim for his solo performance in the "live on stage, on film" version of
Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), ''Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) ...
's 1939 novel ''
Johnny Got His Gun ''Johnny Got His Gun'' is an anti-war novel written in 1938 by American novelist Dalton Trumbo and published in September 1939 by J. B. Lippincott. The novel won one of the early National Book Awards: the Most Original Book of 1939. A 1971 fil ...
'', his first starring role in a film. He stars as Joe Bonham, a role previously played by
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
,
Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...
, and
Timothy Bottoms Timothy James Bottoms (born August 30, 1951) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead in ''Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971); Sonny Crawford in ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), where he and his fellow co-stars, Cy ...
. 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 Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
Fly-in Movie Contest and entered as an official selection on the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
's Short film category. McKenzie starred as rookie police officer Ben Sherman on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
drama ''
Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...
'', which premiered on April 9, 2009. The show was canceled while in production on its second season.
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
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 An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
transfer of ''
The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...
'' at the
Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...
in Los Angeles. Following the end of ''Southland'', McKenzie was cast in the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
drama
television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
''The Advocates'', opposite
Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...
. 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 Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
, 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 Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
prequel television show '' Gotham'', which premiered on September 22, 2014. In the series, he portrayed James Gordon as a young detective new to
Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the cit ...
. 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 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
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 Arian Moayed ( fa, آرین مؤید, born April 15, 1980) is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and director. Moayed received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' a ...
and the theater production company Waterwell. He shot ''Line of Duty'', a real-time action thriller, in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Alabama in early summer 2018; it was released in 2019.


2019–present: New projects and theater

Following the conclusion of ''Gotham'' in 2019, McKenzie indicated the end of one chapter in his career, turning to new efforts including writing and directing. On June 24, 2019, McKenzie, along with an ensemble cast, presented '' The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts'', a dramatic reading of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. McKenzie portrayed
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's former National Security Advisor
Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of ...
, as well as
Donald Trump, Jr. Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
McKenzie made his Broadway debut on January 23, 2020, in the
Second Stage A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage i ...
production of ''Grand Horizons'' at the
Hayes Theater The Hayes Theater (formerly the Little Theatre, New York Times Hall, Winthrop Ames Theatre, and Helen Hayes Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 240 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Named for actress ...
. McKenzie starred as Ben, one of two sons struggling with their elderly parents' divorce. A limited-run production, the play began previews on December 23, 2019 and closed on March 1, 2020. In February 2022, it was announced that McKenzie would star in and produce ''Bloat'', an internationally-produced
J-horror Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...
film.


Criticism of cryptocurrency

Since 2021, McKenzie has been an outspoken critic of
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...
. He is noted as one of the few celebrity skeptics of the technology. As such, he has been particularly critical of the proliferation of celebrity endorsements of unstable cryptocurrencies, their speculation, and
NFT A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the ...
s. With journalist Jacob Silverman, he has written a number of critical articles on crypto for publications including ''Slate'', ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', and ''The Intercept''. Together, they are writing the book ''Easy Money'', to be released by Abrams Press in July 2023. They had a featured session on the topic at the 2022
SXSW Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...
and McKenzie at
WSJ ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
Tech Live 2022 and the 2022
Web Summit Web Summit is an annual technology conference held in Lisbon, Portugal. Founded in 2009 by Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly, and Daire Hickey, Web Summit was originally held in Dublin, Ireland until 2016, when it moved permanently to Lisbon. Web S ...
. As a
pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
, McKenzie has also appeared on
CNN Business CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's ''Fortune'' and ''Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of Time ...
,
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
, and
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
to discuss the topic. He has been a guest on podcasts like ''What Next: TBD'', ''Deconstructed'', and ''Chapo Trap House'', and radio programs ''Marketplace Tech'' and ''Morning Edition''. McKenzie testified at the
United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, ...
hearing "Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers” in December 2022. 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 A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a ...
from
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...
professor and SEC chairman
Gary Gensler Gary Gensler (born October 18, 1957) is an American government official and former investment banker serving as the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gensler previously led the Presidential transition of Joe Biden, Biden–Ha ...
and ''
Capital in the Twenty-First Century ''Capital in the Twenty-First Century'' (french: Le Capital au XXIe siècle) is a book written by French economist Thomas Piketty. It focuses on wealth and income inequality in Europe and the United States since the 18th century. It was initially ...
'' by economist
Thomas Piketty Thomas Piketty (; born 7 May 1971) is a French economist who is Professor of Economics at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Associate Chair at the Paris School of Economics and Centennial Professor of Economics in the Int ...
.


Personal life

In September 2015, actress
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born 2 June 1979) is a Brazilian actress known for portraying Inara Serra in the sci-fi series '' Firefly'' and its follow-up film '' Serenity'', Vanessa in the superhero comedy franchise ''Deadpool'', Jessi ...
said in a legal declaration involving her divorce from
Austin Chick Austin Chick (born 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer, who made the films '' XX/XY'', released in 2002, and ''August'', which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Early life Although born in Hartford, Connec ...
that she planned to marry her ''Gotham'' co-star, McKenzie, adding that she was pregnant with their child. Their daughter was born on March 2, 2016. Baccarin and McKenzie announced their engagement in November 2016. They were married on June 2, 2017 (Baccarin's 38th birthday) in Brooklyn, New York. They announced the birth of their son in March 2021. With Baccarin, McKenzie has one step-son.


Filmography


Film


Television


Audio


Theater


Bibliography

* ''Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud'' (July 2023), with Jacob Silverman.
ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and ...
978-1-4197-6639-8


Awards and nominations


References


External links

*
Ben McKenzie
at
IBDb The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...

Ben McKenzie
at About the Artist * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Ben 1978 births 21st-century American male actors American people of Dutch-Jewish descent American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American male voice actors Austin High School (Austin, Texas) alumni Living people Male actors from Austin, Texas University of Virginia alumni People associated with cryptocurrency