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Benjamin McKenzie

Highest Rated: 89% Batman Year One (2011)

Lowest Rated: 5% 88 Minutes (2007)

Birthday: Sep 12, 1978

Birthplace: Austin, Texas, USA

Although Hollywood attempted to embrace him as a disposable teen heartthrob, Benjamin McKenzie chose to follow the path of a serious actor instead, and his intense persona set him apart from his flashier peers. Born Sept. 12, 1978 in Austin, TX, Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan was the son of Mary France Victory and Pieter Meade Schenkkan. Artistry ran in his family; his mother was a poet, his uncle was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and his paternal grandparents were both theater actors. After playing football at Austin High School, he studied foreign affairs and economics at the University of Virginia, where his interest in acting began. Appearing in several theatrical productions, including "Zoo Story" and Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," McKenzie's passion gelled, and after graduation he moved to New York City to pursue the stage. He appeared off-Broadway in "Life is a Dream" at the SoHo Rep and in multiple productions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, including "Street Scene" and "The Blue Bird." Soon Los Angeles beckoned, and McKenzie headed West to try his luck on the TV audition circuit. Ironically, an unsuccessful audition for a UPN sitcom put McKenzie on the radar of the casting agents who would change his life. "The O.C." ( FOX , 2003-07) was already a highly buzzed-about project, a glossy teen drama with the distinction of being the brainchild of the youngest creator of a TV show in history, the wunderkind Josh Schwartz. McKenzie's electrifying audition convinced producers to take the enormous gamble of resting a brand-new television show on the shoulders of an unknown, and the hype machine kicked into overdrive with the actor's brooding mug soon becoming inescapable. Happily, the show delivered on all fronts, becoming watercooler television that minted each of its lead actors as instant celebrities. McKenzie then took a supporting role in the Southern family drama "Junebug" (2005). He jumped at the chance to work with his idol, Al Pacino, in the real-time thriller "88 Minutes" (2007) and tackled the ultra-demanding "live on stage, on film" solo piece "Johnny Got His Gun" (2008). McKenzie continued to make choices based on the work rather than on prestige, playing a rookie cop on the sprawling, challenging LAPD drama "Southland" (NBC, 2009; TNT, 2010-13). After "Southland" came to a close in 2013, McKenzie co-starred in post-apocalyptic drama "Goodbye World" (2013) and romantic comedy "Some Kind of Beautiful" (2014) before returning to television as future police commissioner James Gordon in the Batman origin story "Gotham" (Fox 2014-2019). At the start of the show's second season, McKenzie appeared in the gossip columns when it was revealed that he had begun a relationship with his co-star Morena Baccarin, who announced that she was expecting the couple's first child in September 2015. The couple were married in 2017 and had a second child in 2021. McKenzie went on to star alongside Aaron Eckhart and Courtney Eaton in "Line of Duty" (2019).

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Highest rated movies

89% 79% Batman Year One
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86% 73% Junebug
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54% 42% Decoding Annie Parker
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53% 60% Line of Duty Watchlist
28% 31% Goodbye World
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21% 67% Johnny Got His Gun
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6% 30% Some Kind of Beautiful Watchlist
5% 44% 88 Minutes
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53% Adventures in the Sin Bin
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Filmography

Movies

Credit
53% 60% Line of Duty Dean Keller (Character) - 2019
6% 30% Some Kind of Beautiful Brian (Character) - 2014
54% 42% Decoding Annie Parker Tom (Character) $39.9K 2013
28% 31% Goodbye World Nick (Character) - 2013
No Score Yet 53% Adventures in the Sin Bin Michael (Character) - 2012
89% 79% Batman Year One Bruce Wayne/Batman (Voice) - 2011
21% 67% Johnny Got His Gun Joe Bonham (Voice) - 2008
5% 44% 88 Minutes Mike Stempt (Character) $16.9M 2007
86% 73% Junebug Johnny Johnsten (Character) $2.7M 2005

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Real Time With Bill Maher Self 2023
77% 68% Gotham Detective James Gordon (Character),
Director
2014-2019
No Score Yet 42% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Guest 2009 2012 2016 2019
No Score Yet 48% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Guest 2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet Harry Guest 2017
No Score Yet 18% The Late Late Show With James Corden Guest 2015 2017
No Score Yet 55% Late Night With Seth Meyers Guest 2014-2015 2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen Guest 2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Ellen DeGeneres Show Guest 2014
No Score Yet 84% Men at Work Unknown (Guest Star) 2013
90% 97% Southland Ben Sherman (Character) 2009-2013
No Score Yet No Score Yet Conan Guest 2013
No Score Yet 99% Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Odnarb (Voice) 2011
68% 72% The O.C. Ryan Atwood (Character) 2003-2007
No Score Yet No Score Yet MADtv Unknown (Guest Star) 2004
No Score Yet No Score Yet Abby Unknown (Guest Star) 2003
No Score Yet No Score Yet The District Unknown (Guest Star) 2002