Robert Ben Garant, credited earlier in his career as Ben Garant, is an American screenwriter, producer, director, comedian and actor. He has a long professional relationship with Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver from their time in the sketch comedy troupe The State, then on the sketch-comedy show The State, the cop show spoof Reno 911!, and numerous screenwriting collaborations.
Early life Garant grew up in Farragut, Tennessee. He lived in New York City for several years and attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. While at NYU he was a member of sketch comedy troupe The State.
Career Garant was a cast member on the 1993–1995 MTV sketch comedy series The State. In 2003, Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver, all members of The State, created the mockumentary show Reno 911!, which aired on Comedy Central; Garant appeared on the show as Deputy Travis Junior.
Garant and Lennon are frequent writing partners, and have written several successful screenplays together, including the Night at the Museum films. Their films have earned over $1.4 billion in box office revenue alone.
Garant and Lennon created and starred in a 2010 sitcom pilot for NBC called The Strip. However, it was not ordered as a series. Later in 2010, Garant and Lennon created a pilot for FX called USS Alabama, a sci-fi/comedy set a thousand years in the future, aboard a United Nations peacekeeping spaceship, the U.S.S. Alabama. This pilot was not picked up either.
In 2011, Garant and Lennon released a book about their careers called Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can Too!
Filmography Television Year Title Director Writer ExecutiveProducer Creator Notes 1993-1995 The State 1997–1999 Viva Variety 2003-2022 Reno 911! Directed 38 episodes 2016-2019 Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Directed 4 episodes 2021 Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon TV movie 2022 Reno 911! It's a Wonderful Heist
Acting roles Year Title Role Notes 1993-1995 The State 1997–1999 Viva Variety 2003-2022 Reno 911! 2010 Archer Rudi (Voice) Episode "Honeypot" 2011-2025 Bob's Burgers Critter/Torpedo/Mitchell 6 episodes 2014 The Aquabats! Super Show! Kitty Litter (voice) Episode "Kitty Litter!" 2016-2019 Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Gio 9 episodes
Film Year Title Director Writer Producer 2004 Taxi 2005 The Pacifier Herbie: Fully Loaded 2006 Let's Go to Prison Night at the Museum 2007 Balls of Fury Reno 911!: Miami 2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian 2013 Hell Baby 2014 Jessabelle Rocky and Bullwinkle Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb 2016 The Veil 2017 Baywatch TBA Casket Girls
Acting roles Year Title Role Notes 2007 Reno 911!: Miami Deputy Travis Junior 2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Orville Wright Uncredited 2013 Hell Baby Father Sebastian 2014 Rocky and Bullwinkle Narrator 2019 Raising Buchanan Lancaster Guy
Special thanks Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022)
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