Ben McKenzie

Ben McKenzie (born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan; September 12, 1978), is an American actor and producer. He is known for playing Ryan Atwood in the television series The O.C. and for playing Ben Sherman in Southland. He appeared in the films Junebug and 88 Minutes. His first starring role in a feature film was in the 2008 indie release Johnny Got His Gun. Since 2014, McKenzie is currently starring as James Gordon in the television series Gotham.

Early life

McKenzie was born in in Austin, Texas, as Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan, one of three boys born to Frances Victory Schenkkan, a poet, and Pieter Meade "Pete" 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, Jr.

For middle school, he attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where he was friends and flag football teammates with future Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. He attended Austin High School, playing wide receiver and defensive back for the school's football team. From 1997–2001, he attended the University of Virginia, his father and paternal grandfather's alma mater, where he majored in foreign affairs and economics. He uses his middle name as his stage name to avoid confusion with actor Ben Shenkman.

Australian Idol (season 5)

The fifth season of Australian Idol premiered on 5 August 2007 on Network Ten. It concluded on 25 November.

Overview

Format changes

The series was again hosted by Andrew G and James Mathison, with Ian "Dicko" Dickson returning to the show as one of the judges, along with Mark Holden, Marcia Hines and Kyle Sandilands. The show continued with the new format from Season 4, where contestants were permitted to perform original material for their audition and throughout the season, and play instruments as part of their performances.

Ratings

The premiere episode of the 2007 series had 1.65 million viewers, making it the show's second highest rating series opener and 270,000 ahead of last year. The show was in the top ten most viewed shows for the early part of the series and eventually dropped to around number eighteen and nineteen for quite some time due to hot competition from Channel 7's Kath & Kim. The season was on a low compared to Season 4. The Top 5 performance show marked the re-commencement of higher ratings for the program and it reached number nine.