Showing posts with label The O.C. Flashback Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The O.C. Flashback Series. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

The O.C. Flashback Series: Adam Brody worked where before he was famous?!?!

Early promotional shot for season 1 of The O.C. 

Our main man Adam Brody AKA Seth Cohen had quite the career before he hit it big as an actor. 
Do you know where Adam was working before he started getting roles in films/TV such as Growing Up Brady (2000) or Once and Again (2001)?


While Adam was attending local college he worked part-time at Blockbuster, you know the movie rental store that pretty much disappeared years ago (there is still a few locations left believe it or not).

Adam Brody's best friend Ari Davis
Adam worked there before moving with his best friend (Ari Davis) to L.A. to seek out an acting career. Ari Davis and Adam Brody were skateboard and surf buddy's too!


Adam's thoughts about working at Blockbuster "It was the most boring job I've ever had. But it was sort of inspirational putting away movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer with those kids on the front of the box". Out of the two Adam has been much more successful than his best bud Ari but we have high hopes! 


Overall this story is rather motivational! Who would have thought Adam would also soon be on the cover of some of those movies covers too. Just goes to show you that anything is possible so don't take your current crappy job as your final destination, good things come to those who dream! Who knows you may get your very own pool house one day......sigh......

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The O.C. Interviews: Early 2004 O.C. Interview with Benjamin Mckenzie!

benjamin mckenzie and adam brody pose for promo O.C photo


Article by Katie Sullivan
From: The Cavalier Daily (Independent daily news organization at the University of Virginia)
Article date: January 21st 2004

Ben McKenzie doesn't have it bad.

The 2001 College graduate has established himself in his chosen profession -- acting -- by landing the role of main character Ryan on Fox's hit new teen drama, "The O.C.," which airs at 9 p.m. tonight.

He took some time out of his busy shooting schedule -- his lunch break, to be exact -- to talk with The Cavalier Daily. Not every alumnus has a publicist.

As Ryan, McKenzie plays a teen with a troubled past, arrested for stealing a car with his brother and subsequently abandoned by his mother. He is taken in by his public defender, played by Peter Gallagher, and must transition from his working-class Chino past to the sometimes ridiculously opulent lifestyle of Orange County, California.

But McKenzie said Ryan's background has little in common with his own past.

"I was a football player, got a good degree from a great university -- little shout out to U.Va. there -- and I had a very wonderful family and grew up in a great environment," McKenzie said.

But he does feel he and Ryan are somewhat a match of personalities.

"I'm a fairly quiet, thoughtful, passionate guy, and I think Ryan is too," McKenzie said.

McKenzie's double majors, foreign affairs and economics, are not the most obvious for someone interested in acting, but he said that his interest in the theater didn't start until college.

"I came to U.Va. from Austin, Texas, where I played football and was not an actor -- I didn't have the guts to do it. When I came to U.Va. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I was intending to do something like politics or history or literature," McKenzie said. "But I tried out for a play and got cast, and I loved that experience and kept doing it again and again."

As graduation approached he wasn't sure whether he wanted to pursue acting or try something more conventional -- but eventually acting won out.

He spent the summer after graduation working with the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts and then moved to New York City in fall of 2001.

"It was right before Sept. 11. I got up there and it was a mess. The theater scene in large part shut down, so I waited tables and auditioned," he said. "I had the opportunity to go to L.A. so I packed a bag, figuring I'd be back in a week, but a week later I was still there and a year later I was still there."

And right after that he landed the job on "The O.C."

"It's a very 'go west young man seeking fame and fortune' kind of story," McKenzie said. "I had no plan. It was very haphazard. To be honest, in this business it's very haphazard how you make it anyway. You try to become a good actor by studying and working on it and then you give it a shot, and there's no way to guarantee success or failure."

His advice to students interested in following in his footsteps is to consider whether it's what you really want to do and then give it your all.

And be prepared to deal with disappointment with an open mind, McKenzie said.

"The most hardworking guy doesn't always get the job," he explained. "You have to understand that and be okay with that."

McKenzie is certainly working hard now.

He spends up to 12 hours a day working on the show, mostly on the set.

"It's a lot less glamorous and different than one would imagine. It's normal lives and normal people, of which I am one," McKenzie said. "You have different requirements, basically. Instead of having to do research for a presentation, you have to do a couple of interviews to promote a show."

McKenzie said he believes part of the reason the media has picked up so heavily on the show is that it is a break from cop, lawyer and reality TV.

The casts' looks don't hurt either.

Asked if Peter Gallagher is as hot on TV as he is in real life, McKenzie said he was.

"It's a pretty attractive cast, I have to say, both guys and girls," McKenzie said. "We're doing all right for ourselves."

The cast works five or six episodes ahead of what the show is airing, depending on when reruns air and other factors.

"It's mildly amusing to have people who are very avid fans want to know if Marissa is going to break up with Ryan," McKenzie said. "It's interesting to watch because as an actor you know what's coming up but the rest of the world doesn't."

He finds the working world on the set to be "a wonderfully cooperative environment."

"Josh [the creator] is 27 years old, and me being 25 I'm able to talk to him almost as a peer," McKenzie said. "I sit down with him after each draft, and anything I think is a trouble spot we work through it. I can't stress enough how important it is, and rare. Other shows end up being an environment where they tell you what's going to happen."


McKenzie said the cast members are able to have a fair amount of influence on their characters, especially Adam Brody, who plays the sarcastic Seth.

"Adam's able to put his own comedy and humor into the show, and I'm able to adjust the dialogue to something I think is semi-accurate," McKenzie said. "[Josh] also bases some of the show off of our lives."

He cited an example in which a conversation between he and Adam about girls turned up in the script.

"You have to watch yourself when you're around Josh," McKenzie said.

McKenzie's time at the University was full of normal activities. He streaked the Lawn. His favorite restaurant was Michael's Bistro, although he enjoyed going downtown to C&O when his parents were in town to foot the bill. He lived in Emmet his first year.

While serious about his studies, he spent most of his free time doing theater. "Mainly what happened was I would go to class during the day and have rehearsal at night," McKenzie said.

He worked in several productions, including a role as the duke in "Measure for Measure" during his fourth year, for any current fourth years who might have seen him during their first year.

He also enjoyed working with several of the professors in the drama department, including Betsy Tucker, Richard Warner and Gwen West, who he stressed were in no particular order.

"I look back and think U.Va. really is a wonderful place to go to school," McKenzie said. "Not to be too much of a dork, but it's a great learning environment. The professors are genuinely there to teach, and at other schools they're there to research."

Anyone looking for evidence of McKenzie in the yearbook isn't going to find him, however, because McKenzie is not his real last name.

He changed to his middle name -- his full name is Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan -- because there was already an actor with a similar name in the union.

"He's in 'Angels in America' [and also last week's episode of 'Law and Order'] -- Ben Shenkman," McKenzie said. "It was causing confusion already, so I thought it would be simpler and easier if I went with my middle name."

McKenzie enjoyed following University sports while an undergraduate, especially football and basketball, "with the lovely court that Jefferson signed." He tries to follow the teams now, but they don't get onto television too often in Los Angeles, where he is now working.

Despite his high school background as a football player, McKenzie did not play any sports while at the University, although he did have a brief encounter with rugby.

"I played rugby for a while with a hallmate, Chris Turner -- a great guy. Rugby players are much scarier than football players, they do it without pads -- they're really nice guys but they're crazy," McKenzie said. "I'm not big enough to do it and not break. It was fun though. I had no idea what I was doing, running around trying to throw the ball to someone."

McKenzie said he sees the future as pretty wide open.

"In the near future I'd love to break into film and try my hand at different roles and different genres," he said.

Asked if he wants to be an actor for the rest of his life, he said there's no way to be sure.

"I love what I do," McKenzie said. "But it's hard to say at age 25. Four years ago I didn't know I wanted to be an actor. I'm interested in government and politics, and other aspects of the business, like directing, producing, writing."

And of course he'd like to come back to visit his alma mater.

"Wahoowa. Hopefully I'll make it back some day, be able to hang out again," McKenzie said. "It was a great time, a great school. I'll never be able to do it again"

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Just for Fun: The OC Faces Then Vs. Now


The O.C Faces Then Vs. Now. This is what an O.C. reunion would look like today! 

Who do you think has changed the most? 

Fun fact: Ben Mckenzie, Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson all are parents now! Come on coop,
catch-up with the rest of the gang!


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The O.C. Basement: Benjamin Mckenzie before and after reaching stardom!


In the above awesome and rare video we get to take a look back at Benjamin Mckenzie before and after reaching stardom on The O.C..Starting off with a highschool touchdown! As you maybe can gather much of  the O.C. on location footage was taken from the Season 1 episode titled "The Links" when Oliver takes the gang to his parents Palm Springs retreat to play golf.

A few things we learned while watching the video:


  • Fascinatingly Ben had a super small resume prior to playing in The O.C. but despite that he was able to beat out 500 other people trying out for the role of Ryan Atwood. 



  • Ben reassured his family back at home in Austin that he's still the same person "but leads a little more stranger life". Admits he wears a little more makeup these days but adds that he is still the football playing bar-b-que eating kid he was 5 to 10 years ago. 


Benjamin Mckenzie was known to be the most modest spender of all the younger O.C. cast members, claiming to have only bought a new infinity when striking new fame. But in this video it revealed that he bought a new apartment in Santa Monica as well, which we all could have assumed.


Ben claims in stardom that "You're still the same person, nothing has changed for you its just how people perceive you". Pretty thought provoking!

Rachel Bilson, Samaire Armstrong and Mischa Barton all had great things to say about the Ben. 

Rachel: "He's so cool. Ben is awesome and you know whats great, he sticks to his Cowboy boots no matter what, he always wears his cowboy boots." Picture a Ryan Atwood in cowboy boots, not really sure that would work! 

Samaire: "Ben is so fun because like, he's mostly a sincere sturdy guy but once you crack that smile and actually get him to giggle he's so much fun to be around."

Mischa: "He's great. I mean you know I think he's the perfect choice for Ryan, he's got like, he's added a lot of depth to the character, he's just so nice and very down to earth."

Benjamin Mckenzie mentions a few things he misses being away from Austin, TX since landing the big gig The O.C.:

1. 6th Street
2. No good bar-b-que
3. No blues country folk music scene out in LA 
4. No Barton Springs (a recreation outdoor swimming pool in Austin, TX) 
5. No UT Football "Go Horns!"

Ben also mentioned that Adam Brody promised to teach Ben how to surf but hasn't gotten around to it yet. I wonder if he ever did!

Monday, July 25, 2016

The O.C. Flashback Series: Chris Carmack's High School Photos and Drama Class Short Film!


At Everything The O.C. we love to dig up things from before The O.C. stars were famous. We like to call it The O.C. Flashback series! In this flashback we feature some rare Chris Carmack school photos and a humorous movie made by Chris Carmack and his friend from back in the day!


Before Chris Carmack landed his hot gig playing the very likable water polo playing Luke Ward in The O.C..he was just a normal guy going to school and what not. The photo on the left is Chris Carmack in 8th grade rocking the infamous bowl-cut and on the right Chris in 12th grade looking kinda like he did in The O.C.. Chris went to Zadok Magruder High School in Montgomery County, Maryland. 



In 2000 Chris did Abercrombie and Fitch modeling before getting bit by the acting bug.
Chris then went on to acting in various small roles before hitting it big with The O.C..


In the above video we have a very rare short comedy film made by Chris Carmack (Luke Ward) and some of his friends from Chris's late high school years or after. 

The video is pretty corny and funny at the same time! Some of Chris's expressions are sorta familiar but overall his acting methods improved a lot by the time he got on The O.C.. Enjoy and GO COLONELS!

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The O.C. Flashback Series: Ryan Atwood's Real High School Photos, Plus More!

How old was Benjamin Mckenzie when he played Ryan Atwood in the O.C.? When it comes to the land of TV, often actors are cast to play characters much younger or older than their real age for some odd reason. It's became very popular for 20+ year old to play teenagers in Hollywood and it must come down to their acting ability and maturity. This was very much the case when it comes to The O.C..With that being said lets reveal Ryan Atwood aka Kid Chino aka Benjamin Mckenzie aka Ben Schenkkan's real high school yearbook photo as well as how old he was while playing in The O.C..


Benjamin Mckenzie (number 6) was big in athletics, playing soccer and football in middle school
and in high school. He played with pro football star Drew Brees in middle school, who is currently the quarter back of the New Orleans Saints.


Above: Benjamin Mckeznie at various high school years
Last photo on the right features his senior photo at age 18
(real birthday September 12th 1978) 
Real Graduating class of 1997 Austin High School in Austin, TX
Harbor School (The O.C. Class of 2006)
The O.C. aired from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007
Ryan Atwood's birthday was revealed in season 3 episode 17 "The Journey" 
March 19, 1988

Benjamin Mckenzie was 24 when he started playing Ryan Atwood in The O.C. and was 28 by the time the show ended. In the O.C. world that would have made him born in 1988. I wonder if he felt a little out of place still playing someone in college etc. So that's an 9 year difference from his real life graduation date, now that's Hollywood for ya!

Stay tuned for the rest of the gang! 

Friday, May 1, 2015

The O.C. Flashback Series: Summer Roberts Real High School Yearbook, Sophomore, Junior and Senior Pics

How old was Rachel Bilson when she played Summer Roberts in the O.C.? When it comes to the land of TV, often actors are cast to play characters much younger or older than their real age for some odd reason. It's became very popular for 20+ year old to play teenagers in Hollywood and it must come down to their acting ability and maturity. This was very much the case when it comes to The O.C..With that being said lets reveal Summer Roberts aka Rachel Bilson real high school yearbook photo's as well as how old he was while playing in The O.C..



Above: Rachel Bilson sophomore year yearbook photo's

Above: Rachel Bilson junior year yearbook photo's


Above: Rachel Bilson senior yearbook photo

Rachel Bilson's real birthday August 25th 1981
Real Graduating class of 1999 (Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, CA)  
Harbor School (The O.C. Class of 2006)
The O.C. aired from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007

Rachel Bilson was 21 when she started playing Summer Roberts in The O.C. and was 25 by the time the show ended. In the O.C. world that would have made her born in 1988. So that's an 7 year difference from when she actually graduated in real life, now that's Hollywood for ya!

Stay tuned for the rest of the gang! 

Thursday, April 23, 2015

The O.C. Flashback Series: Seth Cohen's Real High School Yearbook Photo

How old was Adam brody when he played Seth Cohen in the O.C.? When it comes to the land of TV, often actors are cast to play characters much younger or older than their real age for some odd reason. It's became very popular for 20+ year old to play teenagers in Hollywood and it must come down to their acting ability and maturity. This was very much the case when it comes to The O.C..With that being said lets reveal Seth Cohen aka Adam Brody's real high school yearbook photo as well as how old he was while playing in The O.C..


Above: Adam Brody at 17 in his real high school senior photo above
(real birthday December 15th 1979) 
Real Graduating class of 1997 Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, California.  
Harbor School (The O.C. Class of 2006)
The O.C. aired from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007
Allegedly Seth Cohen's birthday is April 06, 1988 (not confirmed)

Looks a little bit more preppy than the Seth Cohen we all know and love, closer to a water polo player if you ask me. I wonder if he shaves his chest, I mean sweater vest! He is lacking the emo vibe and wearing a tie, come on man! This is the alternate reality Seth Cohen, if he never would have met Ryan or if Kirsten married Jimmy - he would have turned into this square above. 

Adam Brody was 23 when he started playing Seth Cohen in The O.C. and was 27 by the time the show ended. In the O.C. world that would have made him born in 1989. So that's a 9 year difference from his real life graduation date, now that's Hollywood for ya!

Stay tuned for the rest of the gang! 





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