The Daily got the chance to catch up with actor Benjamin McKenzie, the star of “88 Minutes,” which will be released this Friday. In the film, Al Pacino plays a professor with a double life as a forensic scientist who lands a serial killer in death row. Before the execution can take place, he receives a phone call warning him that he has only 88 minutes to live and begins a frantic race to investigate many of the people involved, including a strange student played by McKenzie.
McKenzie talked about his experience working with Pacino, cross-dressing and his transition from “OC” star to feature films.
Question: Do you have any concerns that it may be difficult for audiences to separate Ryan from other characters that you now will play?
Benjamin McKenzie: Television is a very powerful medium, and to be on a show that had some success and kind of permeated the pop-cultural Zeitgeist to a degree, I think, makes people sort of associate you with that character more than they might if it were just a film or a more short-lived experience.
Read the full story
Benjamin McKenzie knows full well the difficulties of coming back from a hit TV show. Best-known for his role as brooding teen Ryan Atwood on The O.C., he’s trying to further his career by taking on a variety of roles in different genres. McKenzie discussed his career, future plans and his new film, 88 Minutes, during a recent conference call.
“Television is a very powerful medium, and to be on a show that had some success and kind of permeated the pop cultural zeitgeist to a degree makes people sort of associate you with that character more than they might if it was just a film or a short-lived experience,” McKenzie said.
Read the full story
Don’t forget to tune into Ben’s interview tonight on “Tavis Smiley.” Click here and enter your zip code to see what time the show will be airing in your city.
Also remember to keep an eye open for Ben’s appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” this Wednesday. Click here to check your local listings. Thank you to Emily from Warner Bros. for the reminder. 
MoviesOnline recently caught up with Benjamin McKenzie to talk about his role in 88 Minutes, which is heading to theatres on April 18th, 2008.
Jon Avnet directs Al Pacino in the tension filled thriller 88 Minutes. Dr. Jack Gramm is a Forensic Psychologist and University professor who finds himself in the middle of murder mystery. His testimony in the trial of serial killer Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) seems to have sparked a copycat, who has advised Gramm that he has only 88 minutes to live. Surrounded by suspects, Gramm uses his forensic skills to track down the killer, but can he do it in time? Amy Brenneman, Alicia Witt, Benjamin McKenzie, and Leelee Sobieski co-star.
Benjamin McKenzie stars as Mike Stemp, an angry college student who Gramm suspects may be involved with the killings.
In addition to McKenzie’s success on The OC, he has impressed audiences on stage, made several television guest appearances, appeared in the indie hit Junebug, and stars in the upcoming film Johnny Got His Gun.
As the honorary Cohen on FOX’s soapy hit “The O.C.,” actor Ben McKenzie became an overnight sensation poised for tabloid notoriety. Surprisingly, he’s since kept a low profile (with the exception of 2005’s indie charmer Junebug). He’s now back and ready to trade in his 15 minutes for 88 Minutes, a new crime thriller starring Al Pacino. Say hello to our not-so-little friend.
In a faraway land, not so long ago, there lived a royal family who threw lavish balls, wore costumes made from the richest of fabrics, and ate their weight in bagels. The princess, a recovering alcoholic, was killed off in season three. Her younger sister was a raging bitch. The court jester, for whom summer was more than a season, doodled his days away with comic books. But what of Prince Ryan, he who held court over the bottle-blonde denizens of Newport Beach on FOX’s primetime phenomenon “The O.C.”? For starters, 29-year-old Ben McKenzie ditched the Chino schtick to tackle Amy Adams, figuratively, in 2005’s widely-praised indie Junebug. He then flew below the radar, both on and off camera, managing to escape the trappings that so often swallow young Hollywood whole. This week, the articulate actor blasts onto the silver screen with 88 Minutes, a popcorn-throwing nailbiter starring Al Pacino, Leelee Sobieski, and Alicia Witt. Up next, he’ll anchor Johnny Got His Gun, a heady mix of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, Lars Von Trier’s Dogville, and Pat Barker’s Regeneration. Below, McKenzie comes clean about his near-death experience with Pacino, his aversion to underwear, and his brush with becoming this generation’s Luke Perry.
BEN McKENZIE: I’m so sick of hearing myself speak. Instead, I’ll ask you the questions.
BLACKBOOK: That sounds more like a therapy session than an interview.
Read the full story
Yes, that really is the kid from “The O.C.” squaring off with Al Pacino in the thriller “88 Minutes,” opening Friday.
Four television seasons and an independent film (”Junebug”) later, Benjamin McKenzie is playing in Hollywood’s big leagues.
McKenzie says it was “inspiring” to work with Pacino in “88 Minutes.”
Cast after meeting “88″ director Jon Avnet at a party, McKenzie plays Mike Stemp, a student in a forensic psychology class taught by Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino). Mike eventually accuses Gramm of murdering a classmate.
Despite the exhaustion of flying back and forth from the “O.C.” set in Los Angeles to shoot “88 Minutes” in Vancouver on weekends, the experience of working with the “Godfather” star was worth it.
“It’s something altogether new for me to work with someone that’s such a legendary figure,” says McKenzie, 29.
Read the full story