Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan (born September 12, 1978) is an American actor best known for his starring television roles as Ryan Atwood in The O.C. (2003–2007), Ben Sherman in Southland (2009–2013), and James Gordon in Gotham (2014–2019). He made his film debut in the Academy Award-nominated Junebug (2005) and later appeared in films like 88 Minutes (2007) and Line of Duty (2019), before making his Broadway debut in Grand Horizons (2020). Beyond acting, McKenzie has become a prominent critic of the cryptocurrency industry, co-authoring the book Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud (2023) with journalist Jacob Silverman and directing the investigative documentary Everyone Is Lying to You for Money (2026). Born in Austin, Texas, he graduated from the University of Virginia in 2001 with a degree in foreign affairs and economics. He is also the nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, and he adopted his middle name "McKenzie" as part of his stage name to avoid confusion with actor Ben Shenkman.