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.

Click here to learn which car he was driving before fame! 

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!

Behind the Scenes: There were TWO different versions of the Ryan and Marissa pilot scene!

Through deep O.C. research I have discovered something pretty mind blowing! While looking through YouTube I stumbled across an old O.C. promo on the VHS Vault channel. I started to watch it and it was pretty cool to see one of the first commercials promoting the show. But what made it go from cool to absolutely amazing was near the end when Ryan says the "Whoever you want me to be" line. But something immediately looked off about the scene, Ryan's head was in a different pose, the camera was zoomed in on his face and there was no cigarette in his mouth. I did a double take and realized hey wait this scene never made it to the actual show!

I figured out the reason why there was two versions of the "whoever you want me to be" line. When it came to promoting The O.C. the networks had to be careful with the content they were showing in commercials especially since the show was brand new and it was being marketed to teens. With that being said the commercial version is without underage smoking. Interestingly enough Ryan doesn't touch another cigarette after the pilot episode and I wonder if the network had something to do with that also!

Furthermore its funny that the commercial left the underage drinking, naked people in the hot tub, breaking car windows, punching and also intimate teen moments but no smoking!! Its pretty humorous really and also makes for a really rare alternative unaired version! Enjoy the video below as it includes the aired and unaired version of Ryan's iconic line!

The O.C. Fan Art: Ryan Atwood in his Crab Shack shirt!

An anonymous artist mastering in advanced pencil shading has submitted this epic drawling of Ryan Atwood working at the Crab Shack. This depiction is complete with realistic shading, classic season 1 ryan hair hair and Ryan giving "a look". This is truly one of the best fan art drawling's of Ryan ever to date! To submit your original art send us a message via twitter!