Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978), is an American actor, writer, and director. His first high profile role was in 2003, starring as Ryan Atwood in the television series The O.C. and subsequently starred as Ben Sherman in Southland. From 2014 to 2019, he starred as James Gordon in the television series Gotham, for which he also wrote and directed episodes.
McKenzie's first starring role in a feature film was in the 2008 film adaptation of Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun. He also appeared in the films Junebug and 88 Minutes, and voiced Batman in Batman: Year One. In January 2020, McKenzie made his Broadway debut in the Bess Wohl play Grand Horizons.
Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan was born on September 12, 1978 in Austin, Texas. He is of Dutch-Jewish, English, and Scottish descent. He is one of three boys born to Frances Victory Schenkkan, a poet, and Pieter Meade Schenkkan, an attorney. His middle name, McKenzie, is his paternal grandmother's maiden name. His grandfather, Robert F. Schenkkan, was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and worked with President Lyndon B. Johnson on passing the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. He is a nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan.