Robert Ben Garant

Robert Ben Garant
Garant performing at the UCB theater
in Los Angeles in March 2009
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • producer
  • director
  • comedian
  • actor
Years active1992–present

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 Executive
Producer		 Creator Notes
1993-1995 The State No Yes No Yes
1997–1999 Viva Variety No Yes No Yes
2003-2022 Reno 911! Yes Yes Yes Yes Directed 38 episodes
2016-2019 Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Yes No Yes No Directed 4 episodes
2021 Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon Yes Yes Yes Yes TV movie
2022 Reno 911! It's a Wonderful Heist No No Yes No

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 No Yes No
2005 The Pacifier No Yes No
Herbie: Fully Loaded No Yes No
2006 Let's Go to Prison No Yes No
Night at the Museum No Yes No
2007 Balls of Fury Yes Yes No
Reno 911!: Miami Yes Yes No
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian No Yes No
2013 Hell Baby Yes Yes Yes
2014 Jessabelle No Yes No
Rocky and Bullwinkle No Yes No
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb No Yes No
2016 The Veil No Yes Yes
2017 Baywatch No Story No
TBA Casket Girls No Yes No

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

References

  1. 1 2 "You Too Can be a Successful Screenwriter". NPR.org.
  2. ↑ Cantor, Hallie (March 21, 2012). "Rob Corddry Is Having Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant's Hell Baby". Vulture. Retrieved April 8, 2022.