Biography
Friends and Family
Zack
[Brother]
(younger brother)
::
Mary Frances Victory
[Mother]
(poet-writer)
::
Nate
[Brother]
(older brother)
::
Pieter Schenkkan
[Father]
(attorney)
Trivia and Quotes
Quotes
 (On playing a thug) It`s a Fox thing, the bad-boy image. They`re trying to type me out. There are worse things in life, you know. I`m just really excited about the opportunity. I found out right off the bat that those guys are f**king crazy and they will kill you. I was practicing with them and this monster dropped his pants in the middle of the field and started pissing. I realized then; I can`t do this. I might die
Sports
(Benjamin McKenzie)
I had one year of struggle. My parents were always there, but I didn`t want to rely on them. Now it`s moving pretty fast. I`m not rich, but obviously this is fantastic. All I know to do with money is put it in a shoe box anyway.
Business
(Benjamin McKenzie)
I had sort of an F-you vibe... Everyone else had come to audition and kissed the asses of [producers] McG and Doug Liman--which they should in a sense, because they`re so accomplished. But I just didn`t. I went in and did my thing, and I don`t know, I guess they liked it.
Career
(Benjamin McKenzie)
If you don`t want female attention, a moustache is the way to go... they`re not a fan.
Beauty
(Benjamin McKenzie)
It`s against type in the sense of my background, but it`s with type in the sense that I am a loner who`s new to this business and skeptical about a lot of it.
Equality
(Benjamin McKenzie)
I`m somewhat puzzled about that myself. I did theater in college, so I had already started down that path, but I didn`t want to major in theater at U. Va. I didn`t really know what I wanted to do, so I thought I`d get a good education and do some acting at the same time.
Life
(Benjamin McKenzie)
I`ve always been kind of a loner. Continue to be. So, in that sense, Ryan and I are the same. I played football in Texas, but I didn`t really hang out with the jocks. I did honors courses, but I didn`t hang out with those kids, either. I sort of had my own group I hung with occasionally, but I`ve always been kind of by myself.
Life
(Benjamin McKenzie)
Sometimes those fears (about fame) creep into the back of your head, but then you slap yourself and think, `Oh, woe is me! People actually like me.` What a silly thing to worry about. This is a huge opportunity, and I`m excited.
Career
(Benjamin McKenzie)
You don`t ever want a woman to look that different from what you`re going to wake up to in the morning, should that situation arise
Love
(Benjamin McKenzie)
"I don`t like the whole trend of people in the business treating marriage like entertainment. It`s either for publicity value or because they`re bored. Because they haven`t done a movie in a few months, they get married instead." - On Young Hollywood weddings.
"It`s against type in the sense of my background, but it`s with type in the sense that I am a loner who`s new to this business and skeptical about a lot of it." When discussing differences between Ryan Atwood and himself.
"I`m somewhat puzzled about that myself. I did theater in college, so I had already started down that path, but I didn`t want to major in theater at U. Va. I didn`t really know what I wanted to do, so I thought I`d get a good education and do some acting at the same time" Explaining why he majored in Economics and Foreign Affairs and not theater.
"I`ve always been kind of a loner. Continue to be. So, in that sense, Ryan and I are the same. I played football in Texas, but I didn`t really hang out with the jocks. I did honors courses, but I didn`t hang out with those kids, either. I sort of had my own group I hung with occasionally, but I`ve always been kind of by myself." - When asked about his high school experience.
I had one year of struggle. My parents were always there, but I didn`t want to rely on them. Now it`s moving pretty fast. I`m not rich, but obviously this is fantastic. All I know to do with money is put it in a shoe box anyway.
It`s a Fox thing, the bad-boy image. They`re trying to type me out. There are worse things in life, you know. I`m just really excited about the opportunity.
Sometimes those fears (about fame) creep into the back of your head, but then you slap yourself and think, `Oh, woe is me! People actually like me.` What a silly thing to worry about. This is a huge opportunity, and I`m excited.
This whole scene is very strange. It`s a very strange town and a very strange business, and it has a tendency to creep me out. Ryan`s relationship with Orange County is very similar to my relationship with L.A.: fabulous wealth, and odd people behaving oddly, and I`m definitely a bit overwhelmed. I hope I`m hiding it well.
[When a Newsweek interviewer asked McKenzie if he thinks The OC should end with Ryan and Marissa getting married] "I`ve always pushed for the big marriage that the whole entire audience has always seen coming. Ryan and Seth walk down the aisle hand in hand."
Trivia
Ben changed his name for screen-credit purposes because there`s an actor named Ben Schenkman registered with the Screen Actors Guild.
Ben is the son of Austin attorney Pete Schenkkan and poet-writer Frances Schenkkan. Ben is the oldest of three children. His brothers are Nate, 22 and Zack, 19. His uncle is Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan and Sarah Drew, who is a recurring star on Everwood, is his second cousin.
Ben was one of People Magazine`s Sexiest Men Alive, 2006. He is found in the "Sexy at every age, Age 28."
Ben will appear in the 2007 Al Pacino thriller, 88 Minutes, with former The OC co-star Melinda Clarke. Ben will play Mike Stemp in the movie.
Has a manager, publicist and lawyer on the payroll (he`s shopping for a new agent now that his career is taking off).
He changed his name for screen-credit purposes because there`s an actor named Ben Schenkman registered with the Screen Actors Guild.
He followed his father and grandfather to the University of Virginia, where he graduated in 2001 with a degree in economics and foreign relations.
He graduated from the same high school in Austin that the Bush twins (Jenna and Barbara) graduated from. He was a senior the year they were freshmen.
He recently moved into a new apartment in Santa Monica and bought a sleek new Infiniti G35, which he concedes he spends more on than housing.
Moved to New York City three weeks before 11th September.
Second cousin of Sarah Drew.
Uncle is Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan.
Was a speaker at the Democratic National Convention on July 27, 2004.
Was voted one of InStyle`s "10 Hottest Bachelors Of Summer" in July 2005, placing at number 10.
|
Comments
Continue the Conversation