Ben McKenzie

Biography: With only a handful of stage and TV credits on his résumé, this Texas-born hunk became an overnight sensation as a bad boy on the prime-time soap The O.C. and quickly (if prematurely) found himself being compared to Russell Crowe and James Dean. Although gossipmongers linked him to a number of starlets, including O.C. siren Mischa Barton and Everwood's Emily VanCamp, the actor seemed more focused on his career than his personal life and soon branched out into features, with supporting roles in Junebug and 88 Minutes. In 2009, McKenzie found himself back on the small screen---this time portraying a guy from a privileged background who becomes a cop and goes on patrol in L.A.'s rougher neighborhoods.