Early Life
McKenzie was born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan, in Austin, Texas, to Mary Frances (Victory), a prize-winning poet, and Pieter Meade Schenkkan. His uncle is the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan. McKenzie is the second cousin of actress Sarah Drew. McKenzie changed his name for screen-credit purposes because there is an actor named Ben Schenkken registered with the Screen Actors Guild. His paternal grandparents both were theatre actors. His younger brother Nate is a Yale graduate working in avant-garde theater in New York. His youngest brother Zack is a Pomona College alumnus.
For middle school, he attended St. Andrew's Episcopal School, where he was friends and teammates with future Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. He then attended Austin High School, and played wide receiver and defensive back for the school's football team. From 1997-2001, he attended the University of Virginia, where he majored in Foreign Affairs and Economics.
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