{"id":236461,"date":"2026-04-24T12:30:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/the-o-c-s-ben-mckenzie-details-his-1st-job-personal-spending-habits-and-shocking-new-crypto-doc\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T12:30:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:30:05","slug":"the-o-c-s-ben-mckenzie-details-his-1st-job-personal-spending-habits-and-shocking-new-crypto-doc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/the-o-c-s-ben-mckenzie-details-his-1st-job-personal-spending-habits-and-shocking-new-crypto-doc\/","title":{"rendered":"The O.C.\u2019s Ben McKenzie Details His 1st Job, Personal Spending Habits and Shocking New Crypto Doc"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Ben McKenzie<\/strong><\/a> knows it\u2019s a bit surprising when fans hear he\u2019s been investigating crypto for the last few years. Best known as teen heartthrob Ryan Atwood from The O.C<\/em>.<\/a><\/strong>, the actor, 47, also has an economics degree \u2014 and when he first learned about cryptocurrencies, alarm bells went off.<\/p>\n

In his new documentary Everyone Is Lying to You for Money<\/em> (in theaters now), producer\/director McKenzie takes on the current crypto craze and outlines why he believes it\u2019s a full-on scam. \u201cYou are not dumb for not understanding crypto,\u201d McKenzie exclusively tells Us Weekly<\/em>. \u201cThey try to make it sound complicated to confuse you. It\u2019s just a scam, it\u2019s just a mania, it\u2019s just a crime and we don\u2019t have to put up with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Below, McKenzie talks about his money habits, life with \u201cgracious and supportive\u201d wife Morena Baccarin<\/strong><\/a>, new TV plans and which O.C.<\/em> character should star in a crypto-based reboot:<\/p>\n

Are you typically a saver or a spender?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are in middle age and have three children we\u2019re raising in NYC, so I would like to say that I\u2019m a saver. We spend, however, an enormous amount of money, because it\u2019s just the cost of living in New York. So, an aspirational saver, a practical spender.<\/p>\n

What did your parents teach you about money?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the things they taught me is the value of owning your own home, which, unfortunately now, is increasingly near impossible for [the] younger generation. My wife [Morena Baccarin<\/a>] and I are privileged to be able to afford it.<\/p>\n

What was your first job ever?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Delivering pizzas for Mr. Gatti\u2019s, a chain in Austin. It was a good job, man. I could listen to my music in my car, 16 years old, and people would tip. I go back and forth on whether having an official job at a young age is a good idea. It depends on the situation, but certainly, having respect for money and understanding the value of it for both good and ill is something we\u2019re trying to convey to our kids.<\/p>\n

What was your first show business gig?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I got in the union by very happenstantially auditioning for a voiceover for a Diet Dr Pepper commercial. It was my first-ever voiceover audition and it was one line. It was about the Holland Globetrotters, as opposed to the Harlem Globetrotters, because the joke was Diet Dr Pepper tastes like Dr Pepper but without the calories. And the line was \u201cYou the man, Hooter.\u201d That one line got me into [SAG]. Because it was a national commercial and because of the union [and] their protections, I was able to get by on that and waiting tables and doing all sorts of other jobs until I got The O.C.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Morena Baccarin Recalls Her and Ben McKenzie\u2019s Most \u2018Memorable\u2019 Getaway<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tMorena Baccarin is looking back at her most exciting getaway with husband Ben McKenzie and their three kids. \u201cMy most memorable vacation is Japan with my kids and husband [Ben],\u201d Baccarin, 46, exclusively shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly while discussing her latest film, The Wrecking Crew. \u201cThe culture, the food, everything was [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Do you remember the moment you first felt financially secure?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I booked The O.C<\/em>. pilot\u2026 At the time, it was a life-changing amount of money. I had a $500 car. I was crashing at a friend\u2019s apartment and I needed the cheapest car I could find\u2026 It was a 1986 Cadillac Deville, 228,000 miles on it, no AC and no radiator, really. And when I got the series, I decided to buy myself a car. So the picture I have is of the Cadillac and the Infiniti splurge. That was the symbol of the fact I had made it.<\/p>\n

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\n Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie<\/span> Jeff Spicer\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What was your best investment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re gonna think this is cheesy, but it\u2019s my relationship with my wife. It is so hard in life to do it on your own\u2026 I\u2019m just deeply grateful for meeting her and for her being brave enough, foolish enough, to marry me. Best investment by far.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your wife\u2019s interest in cryptocurrencies on a scale of one to 10?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no negative!? Morena is so fantastic in the movie\u2026 she\u2019s kind of a surrogate for every woman in the world. Because I cannot tell you how many women have told me that they have some guy who keeps telling them about crypto; it\u2019s a very male phenomenon. So, Morena\u2019s interest in crypto is zero, as is my kids\u2019, but she has been so gracious and so supportive letting me do this crazy thing.<\/p>\n

Have you thought about what kind of project would appeal to you to do next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to get back into television, because I really do miss the camaraderie and collaboration that happens in both the development process, but [also] the shooting of it. Writing a book is quite lonely. Making a documentary [is] really kind of lonely, too. So I missed that. I\u2019m developing a series, but I don\u2019t know that I can say much more about it. It\u2019s a legal drama, political thriller set in New York.<\/p>\n

Which O.C.<\/em> character do you think would most likely fall for a crypto scam?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love Tate Donovan<\/strong><\/a> personally, but it\u2019s totally Jimmy Cooper. I mean, obviously, right? SEC investigation in the show, definitely hawking crypto. And what would be interesting about doing that, not that I\u2019m proposing it, per se, is [to look at]\u2026 Tate\u2019s such a lovely, likable guy that it\u2019d be interesting to examine that, right? The rise and the fall. [You] feel for him and feel for the family. So, yeah, when we get The O.C.<\/em> reboot going, we\u2019ll have to work on Jimmy Cooper\u2019s crypto endeavors.<\/p>\n

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