Media > Articles > Ben McKenzie McKenzie is hoping to stage a hit with 'O.C.' USA Today By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY LOS ANGELES — Like his O.C. character, Ryan Atwood, a poor boy taken in by a rich family, Texas-born Benjamin McKenzie is feeling a bit out of place. "This whole scene is very strange," he says. "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." His sense of dislocation isn't limited to Los Angeles. Nephew of Pulitzer-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan (The Kentucky Cycle), McKenzie got his start as an actor at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival. He went to New York straight out of college, dreaming of doing Tennessee Williams on Broadway. Instead, the 24-year-old single guy finds himself on TV, playing 16-year-old Ryan in a genre that tends to turn handsome young stars into commodities. He knows the term used to describe what fate may have in store: He could become, he says, "the dreaded 'teen idol.' " "I'm wary of that. I think, ideally, if you can use the benefits to your advantage, in terms of exposure and some sort of access to do projects you're interested in, that's a wonderful thing. The other side of it, the commercial aspect of it, is interesting, but it's not exactly why I got into it." McKenzie almost didn't get into it at all. Raised in Texas, he first started doing theater at the University of Virginia. But he didn't see the point in getting a degree in acting. Instead, he majored in foreign affairs and economics. Still, after that summer at Williamstown, he decided to try his hand at acting in New York. He moved there a few weeks before 9/11. "It was a terrible time to be an actor, especially starting out. Broadway was hit hard, but off-Broadway was hit even harder." With work scarce, he moved to L.A., though his heart was still in New York. "I was always biased toward actors who understood theater and were successful in it. Obviously, I wasn't." Almost exactly a year to the day after the move, he was cast in The O.C. McKenzie says he likes the show because it treats all the characters with respect — particularly Ryan, who is tough but not clichéd. Was he anything like Ryan when he was in high school? "I don't know how to describe myself. I was a football player in Austin, Texas. I didn't do theater. I didn't have the guts. I sort of did my own thing. I was always sort of a loner. I certainly wasn't anywhere near the cool guy this kid is. Who is?" Though theater may still be in his future, McKenzie says he's thrilled that TV is in his present. He has a lot to learn about the medium, he says, and he's happy to learn it on The O.C. — despite those 90210 teen-idol comparisons. "Obviously, I'm very proud of the show. I don't think it's really 90210, and that helps me sleep at night." 2003 Virtual Rain. This is an unofficial fansite with no relation to FOX, Warner Brothers, or any of their associates. This is just a fansite opened for the purpose of exposing the show "The O.C" to new fans across the internet. Original copyright of all photos remain to FOX/WB and are used purely for the purpose of enjoying the show and furthering its fanbase.