Ben McKenzie is an actor who lets himself be looked at. From Ryan Atwood in The O.C. to the rookie in Southland, he plays the quiet man being sized up, and he is at his best with a louder partner beside him.
Fi1m perspective
Watch Ben Sherman get out of the patrol car in Southland (2009). He does not say much. The training officer is talking, the people on the pavement are looking, and the camera, handheld and over somebody's shoulder, is looking too. McKenzie's trick, if it is a trick, is to let all of that land on him and give very little back. He has a face that suggests money, and the series knows it: for most of the first season he is the one being appraised, and he lets it happen.
That was also what he did in The O.C. (2003–2007), where Ryan Atwood was the quiet, guarded lead that has been his type ever since. It made his name and then it followed him about. He has said as much himself: "You're that guy for a while, whether you like it or not." Between the two series he took smaller work, a supporting part in the ensemble of Junebug (2005), his first film, and a solo performance as Joe Bonham in Johnny Got His Gun (2008), a play brought to the screen. We have not reviewed those and will not pretend to a view.
Southland is where the habit became a method. Ann Biderman's series puts him in a car with Michael Cudlitz's John Cooper, a training officer with a rule for everything and a partner who could get him killed, and Cudlitz is the reason those hours are as tense as they are. McKenzie's job is harder to see. He has to be sized up for a whole season without asking for our sympathy, and he does it; by the end of the first run we found we were on his side without being able to say when we had got there, which is rare in an actor and rarer in a network cop show. His best work needs a stronger presence beside him. Cudlitz got more out of him than anyone has since.
Then came Gotham (2014–2019) and five seasons as Jim Gordon, the young detective in a Batman prequel. It is a long time to play one man, and we have not reviewed it, so we will only note that he also wrote and directed episodes there, which tells you where his attention was going. Lately he has written a book and directed a documentary about cryptocurrency fraud.
That is an odd second act for a man who was best when he stood still and let a partner talk. Should he come back in front of the camera, we would want him in something small, with a scene partner who does the shouting.
Biography
Ben McKenzie, born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan, is an American actor. He is known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood in the series The O.C. (2003–2007), Ben Sherman in Southland (2009–2013) and James Gordon in Gotham (2014–2019).
After graduating from the University of Virginia with degrees in economics and international relations, he moved to New York to pursue acting and appeared in off-Broadway productions before relocating to Los Angeles. His film credits include Junebug (2005) and 88 Minutes (2007).
He has been married to actress Morena Baccarin since 2017 and they have two children. His uncle is playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan.
