Ben is scheduled to appear on The Ellen Degeneres Show on February 10 (Thursday this week). This is from the official site of Ellen’s show:
When BEN McKENZIE was last here, he told Ellen about a scene he did in “Southland” — completely pantless! Maybe he’ll consider doing a pantless interview today! The sexy guy is stopping by today, and he’ll make sure to give Ellen an update on his adorable rescue dog, Oscar.
From USA Today:
Ben McKenzie had a year off between filming the second and third season of his ensemble police drama, Southland, which returns to TNT on Jan. 4 (10 p.m. ET/PT). But unlike during his breaks from The O.C., which brought him instant fame in 2003, this time there was little talk about his travels to Spain, Turkey and London.
“If that is true, and I pray that it is, then that’s the best news ever,” says McKenzie, 32. “I like it when (the paparazzi) look at you and are like, ‘He’s a little old. I don’t really even want to bother with who he is or isn’t dating.’ I think it’s fantastic.”
In fact, when McKenzie, who plays rookie Officer Ben Sherman on Southland, was hunting around for new projects, he specifically sought out a role and a series far removed from his old teen soap. Getting typecast, “that to me was terrifying. In a way, all of us off (The O.C.) benefited backhandedly from it not being (Beverly Hills) 90210 and lasting 10 years. We’d all have bigger houses and drive nicer cars, but how big a house do you need and how nice a car do you need?”
Yes, Southland is also set in Southern California — but in diverse Los Angeles, where things can be a lot grittier than in affluent Orange County. And with the show’s third season produced for the first time for cable ( although season 2 also aired on TNT, originally it had been made for NBC, until the network canceled it andTNT picked it up), the show will be able to take an edgier turn.
“L.A. is more ethnically and racially and socioeconomically diverse than it’s been portrayed on television,” says McKenzie about Southland’s more “realistic” view. “We’re trying to embrace L.A. for the chaotic environment it can be and use that to our advantage when we’re trying to find stories to tell.”
McKenzie thinks there are also differences between Southland and other cop shows, which typically “portray a very black-and-white, morally unambiguous world: There are good guys who are the cops and there are bad guys who are the people perpetrating the crimes.” On his show, on the other hand, “the cops are seeing a lot of bad things. The cops are good people, but they have their faults. A lot of crimes are not solved.” The world of Southland “is more ambiguous than that standard cop show.”
As Officer Sherman’s confidence as a cop evolves, McKenzie’s confidence as an actor is also growing. “I don’t feel I ever was given the opportunity to do what I believe I’m capable of doing on The O.C.,” he says. “This is a different thing.”
Other recent interview:
WSJ Blog – Ben McKenzie on Southland’s New Season
Atlanta Magazine Blog – McKenzie still running as third season of “Southland” debuts tonight on TNT
Two Cents And Five Questions With Ben McKenzies
Digital Spy – ‘Southland’ star confirms budget cuts
Starry Constellation Mag: Ben Mckenzie and Regina King Interview
Digital Spy – ‘Southland’ star ‘enjoys action scenes’
TVSquad: Michael Cudlitz & Ben McKenzie Talk ‘Southland’ Season 3
From TheFutonCritic:
LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) — TNT will launch the third season of “Southland” on Tuesday, January 4 at 10:00/9:00c, sources at the network have confirmed to the site exclusively.
Said premiere falls one day after “The Closer” wraps its sixth season: Monday, January 3 at 9:00/8:00c.
The 10-episode season, commissioned back in April, is “Southland’s” first produced specifically for the cable channel.
TNT took over the broadcast rights to “Southland’s” second season following NBC’s cancellation of the series late last year.
Those six episodes (3/2/10-4/6/10) averaged 2.7 million viewers, over half of which (1.4 million) fell into the key adults 18-49 demographic.
The show’s ensemble cast includes Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Benjamin McKenzie, Regina King, Kevin Alejandro, Arija Bareikis, Michael McGrady and Tom Everett Scott.
From: TV Squad – Maggie Furlong
To kick off the week and celebrate ‘Southland’ going back into production this Thursday in L.A., TNT hosted a cocktail party for select TV critics and journalists to mingle with the ‘Southland’ cast.
The overall consensus: everyone is ready to be back at work.
The cast and producers were all very tight-lipped about what’s in store for season 3 of their critically-acclaimed, network-shuffled show (premieres January 2011), but they were very chatty regarding just about everything else.
*Regina King (Det. Lydia Adams) was genuinely excited to see pals and costars Michael Cudlitz (Officer John Cooper) and Ben McKenzie (Officer Ben Sherman) at the cocktail party, but said it hasn’t been that long since they’ve seen each other. “We’ve kept in touch over the break … we even went to see Ben in his play. When you find people who love their craft as much as you do and aren’t just in this business to be big stars, you hang on to them.”
*Michael Cudlitz was sporting some tape around his ring finger and pinky, an injury he suffered while filming ‘The Grief Tourist,’ a psychological thriller he starred in and produced (due out 2011). So will Cooper be sporting a glove in season 3, or get a similar injury on the job to work it in? Nope — Cudlitz says he’s tough and will be fine to work without the tape by Thursday.
*Another cable drama was a hot topic of conversation — ‘Mad Men’ seems to be a cast favorite show, but both Cudlitz and Shawn Hatosy (Det. Sammy Bryant) were eager to critique the season finale.
*We loved Hatosy’s turn on ‘Dexter,’ but what else has he been watching? “I’m embarrassed to say it, but I can’t stop watching ‘Top Chef Just Desserts’ … they’re all crazy! Also, I like to watch ‘Celebrity Rehab’ when I’m at the gym.” [Side note: He's as annoyed by the abundance of whoopee pies on 'Just Desserts' -- and restaurant menus -- as I am. "They're not even good!"]
King looked fabulous in skinny jeans and over-the-knee boots (“I got these for $90 in New York!”) and talked about wearing Lydia’s suits on the show. “At first it said: Lydia Adams in her Loehmann’s suit. I was like, ‘Um … no.’ So we changed it to Theory suits,” she laughed.
*Where will season 3 pick up? “Pretty much right where we left off,” Cudlitz said. The only other thing he’d spill about the first three scripts was something about a big North Hollywood shoot-out. Can’t wait for that …
*Hatosy talked a bit about last season’s ‘What Makes Sammy Run?,’ saying that there’s definitely more of his backstory, his relationship with Tammy and some cool action stuff coming soon.
*Also at the party: Arija Bareikis (Officer Chickie Brown), Michael McGrady (Det. Daniel “Sal” Salinger) and Tom Everett Scott, whose injured Det. Russell Clarke got back into the action as Lydia’s partner in last season’s finale. Here’s hoping his attendance means Russell is back for good …
A while back I posted about Ben lending his voice to the newest reboot of “Scooby Doo”. Here are some more details about Ben’s Scooby Doo episode :
Ben will be in an episode entitled “The Wild Brood,” playing a character named Odnarb. This episode is later in the season and an airdate for it has yet to be determined.
Source
Batman: Year One (2011)
Southland (2009-2010)
Sin Bin (2010)
The Eight Percent (2009)
Johnny Got His Gun (2008)
