Austin native Ben McKenzie, former star of the TV series “The O.C.” and the movie “Junebug,” is racing around Austin and Georgetown today on behalf of Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama.
“I met him in L.A. last fall,” McKenzie said, phoning between rallies today. “He came to an event to get young people in Hollywood to campaign for him, and he was quite an impressive individual.”
This is not the actor’s first foray into politics. McKenzie (who grew up here as Ben Schenkkan, son of attorney Pete Schenkkan and Frances Schenkkan) spoke at the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston — the same gathering where Obama first made a national name for himself. But McKenzie didn’t meet the senator then.
Traveling with actress Kerry Washington (“Ray,” “The Fantastic Four”), McKenzie and Washington hosted a rally Thursday morning at 9:30 at Southwestern University in Georgetown, galloped over to Huston-Tillotson University for another rally at 12:30 p.m. and then will dash to yet another gathering for St. Edward’s University at Opal Divine’s on South Congress Avenue.
The busy day will conclude at the University of Texas with a 5 p.m. rally at Dobie Mall.
On Friday, McKenzie and Washington will continue their sweep of colleges in Central and South Texas, heading to Houston for gatherings at Texas Southern and Rice, swinging up through College Station to A&M and returning to Austin for a quick respite.
On Saturday, the duo hits the road again for San Antonio to visit Trinity and UT-San Antonio.
“This is my first time stumping for Senator Obama,” McKenzie said. “There’s a ton of energy right now behind him. I think he’s got a great shot, especially among young people.”
By the way, McKenzie has a role in a new Al Pacino movie, “88 Minutes,” which was filmed last year and is due in theaters in April. Like most actors, McKenzie’s career path hit a bump when the writers’ strike brought Hollywood to its knees for three months.
“What’s next is a little unclear, but we’re getting back into the swing of things,” he said.
Source: statesman.com