'Southland' Star Ben McKenzie Reverts Back To His 'O.C.' Ways To Become Our Hump Day Hottie

Ben McKenzie is attempting to put his "The O.C." days behind him now with an action-packed role on "Southland," which returned to TV last night. He may be is funny, smart and the kind of guy you'd want to bring home to mom, but it's obvious to us that Ben still knows how to defend himself much like Ryan Atwood would've back in the day. Don't believe us? Click on the video below for proof because this week, we went a step further with our Hump Day Hottie and got Ben to respond on camera to his new title.

His reaction is PRICELESS, so don't miss it!

Vital Stats: 31-year-old Ben was actually born Benjamin McKenzie Schenkkan but dropped the last name because he apparently didn't want to be confused with another actor named Ben Schenkken. He grew up in Austin, Texas and later attended the University of Virginia where he majored in Foreign Affairs and Economics — that degree probably comes in handy now that he has to navigate through the politics of Hollywood.

We really wanted to know Ben's relationship status, but he would divulge. Instead he spoke at length about how he plans to defend his Hump Day Hottie nomination from the rest of his competition. "Who? [Matthew Gray Gubler's] my competition?" Ben inquired then threatened sarcastically, "So find him and kill him? Got it. When a piano falls him, you'll know... no, I wouldn't do that to that guy. I don't even know him." But if he were to get physical with any past HDH's, he said his weapon would be his bare hands. "You want to see the fear in their eyes."

Where you might have already seen him: Not that you don't already know this, but he was Ryan "Chino" Atwood on "The O.C.," where he won the hearts of the Cohen's and the rest of the richies down in Orange County. He's also starred in several flicks, including "Junebug" and "88 Minutes."

Why you should take notice of him now: His gritty cop drama, "Southland," was dropped by NBC for Jay Leno's now-canceled primetime talk show, but found a new home on TNT (new episodes began airing last night), which suits Ben just fine.

"We can really delve into some darker, edgier stuff," he said about the network shift. "If you thought it was edgy then, it will be more so. We're trying to do a realistic cop show like you're watching an episode of 'Cops.' We don't try to soften it too much."

Until next Wednesday, when we nominate yet another Hump Day Hottie, you can gawk at Ben and the rest of our past HDH's by clicking on his photo below!

Tags Ben McKenzie, Hump Day Hottie, Photo, Southland, The O.C., Video