Ben McKenzie

Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor, author, and commentator. He is best known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood on the teen drama The O.C. (2003–2007), Ben Sherman on the crime drama Southland (2009–2013), and James "Jim" 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 (2007), Goodbye World (2013), Some Kind of Beautiful (2014), and Line of Duty (2019). In 2020, he made his Broadway debut in the Bess Wohl play Grand Horizons. Outside of acting, McKenzie is noted for his critical commentary on the cryptocurrency bubble and fraud. His book on the subject, Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, was written with journalist Jacob Silverman and published in July 2023. He directed and produced the investigative documentary film Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which was released in April 2026.