2001–2007: Early career and The O.C. After graduating from college in 2001, McKenzie moved to New York City where he worked in part-time jobs and performed in some
off-off-Broadway productions. During this period, he also participated in
summer stock theater and the
Williamstown Theatre Festival. he moved to Los Angeles where he waited tables and slept on the floor of his friend
Ernie Sabella's apartment. While appearing in
The O.C., McKenzie made his feature film debut in the Academy Award-nominated film
Junebug alongside
Amy Adams and
Embeth Davidtz. The film was nominated for "Best International Film" and "Outstanding Ensemble Acting" in the
Amanda Awards and won the
Sarasota Film Festival award for "Outstanding Ensemble Acting". It also received high praise at the 2005
Sundance Film Festival. According to
Production Weekly, McKenzie was set to star in the thriller
Snakes on a Plane, formerly known as
Pacific Air 121, but later dropped out to film
88 Minutes, which starred
Al Pacino.
2007–2019: Southland and Gotham In 2008, McKenzie earned critical acclaim for his solo performance in the "live on stage, on film" version of
Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel
Johnny Got His Gun, his first starring role in a film. He stars as Joe Bonham, a role previously played by
James Cagney,
Jeff Daniels, and
Timothy Bottoms. The movie premiered at the
Paramount Theater in Austin, McKenzie's hometown, while he was filming the pilot for
Southland. In 2009, he appeared in the short film
The Eight Percent. The movie won the
Delta Air Lines Fly-in Movie Contest and entered as an official selection on the
Tribeca Film Festival's Short film category. McKenzie starred as rookie police officer Ben Sherman on the
NBC drama
Southland, which premiered on April 9, 2009. The show was canceled while in production on its second season.
TNT bought the rights for the show and showed the seven episodes that had been produced. The show was subsequently renewed and ran for five seasons before being canceled in 2013. From September to October 2010, he starred in an
off-Broadway transfer of
The Glass Menagerie at the
Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Following the end of
Southland, McKenzie was cast in the
CBS drama
television pilot The Advocates, opposite
Mandy Moore. The show was not produced. In late 2013, he was cast in the drama film
The Swimmer, a Norwegian production that was not produced. In October 2013, he signed an exclusive talent deal with
Warner Bros. Television Studios, the home of
The O.C. and
Southland. A few months later, in February 2014, it was announced that McKenzie was cast in the pilot of
Gotham. McKenzie returned to Fox in the
Batman prequel television show
Gotham, which premiered on September 22, 2014. In the series, he portrayed
James "Jim" Gordon as a young detective new to
Gotham City. After five seasons and 100 episodes, the show concluded in April 2019. In the same series, he made his directorial debut with the
season 3 episode "
These Delicate and Dark Obsessions". McKenzie went on to direct "One of My Three Soups" and write "
The Demon's Head" from the
fourth season. In 2017, he appeared in the first season of
The Accidental Wolf, a miniseries series created by
Arian Moayed and the theater production company Waterwell. He shot
Line of Duty, a real-time action thriller, in
Birmingham, Alabama in early summer 2018; it was released in 2019.
2019–present: New projects, theater, and filmmaking Following the conclusion of
Gotham in 2019, McKenzie indicated the end of one chapter in his career, turning to new efforts including writing and directing. On June 24, 2019, McKenzie, along with an ensemble cast, presented
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts, a dramatic reading of Special Counsel
Robert S. Mueller III's
Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. McKenzie portrayed President
Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor
Michael Flynn, as well as
Donald Trump Jr. McKenzie made his Broadway debut on January 23, 2020, in the
Second Stage production of
Grand Horizons at the
Hayes Theater. McKenzie starred as Ben, one of two sons struggling with their elderly parents' divorce. A limited-run production, the play began previews on December 23, 2019 and closed on March 1, 2020. The production was nominated for
Best Play at the
2020 Tony Awards, among other honors. In February 2022, it was announced that McKenzie would star in and produce
Bloat, an internationally produced
J-horror film. In February 2023, he was announced as a star in the
ABC medical drama pilot The Hurt Unit which was not picked up to series. His next acting project was a supporting role in the action thriller
Motor City. The film premiered at the
Venice Film Festival as part of the Venice Spotlight sidebar and then the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2025. McKenzie began developing an original documentary on predatory cryptocurrency schemes in 2021, with production efforts following the publication of his 2023 book on the subject,
Easy Money. This resulted in the
investigative film Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which premiered at
SXSW London in June 2025. As of 2026, McKenzie is purportedly developing a
legal thriller series with veteran television producer
David E. Kelley, inspired by the political underbelly exposed during the
corruption scandals and investigations under then-mayor Eric Adams. == Criticism of cryptocurrency ==