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.
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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 $1.4 billion in box office revenue alone.
Garant and Lennon created and starred in a 2010 sitcom pilot for NBC called The Strip. However, it was not ordered as a series. Later in 2010, Garant and Lennon created a pilot for FX called USS Alabama, a sci-fi/comedy set a thousand years in the future, aboard a United Nations peacekeeping spaceship, the U.S.S. Alabama. This pilot was not picked up either.
In 2011, Garant and Lennon released a book about their careers called Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can Too!
In 2020, Garant reprised his role as Deputy Travis Junior in the seventh season of Reno 911! which aired on Quibi. He also appeared in the 2021 Paramount+ movie, Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon. The eighth season of the series, now titled Reno 911! Defunded, premiered on The Roku Channel in February 2022.
Filmography
The State (TV) (1993–1995) – co-creator, actor
Viva Variety (TV) (1997–1999) – co-creator, actor
Reno 911! (TV) (2003–2009, 2020-2022) – co-creator, actor, director
Taxi (2004) – writer
The Pacifier (2005) – writer
Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) – writer
Let's Go to Prison (2006) – writer
Night at the Museum (2006) – writer
Balls of Fury (2007) – director, writer
Reno 911!: Miami (2007) – director, writer, actor
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) – writer, actor
Archer (TV) (2010) – guest voice actor
Bob's Burgers (TV) (2011) – guest voice actor
Hell Baby (2013) – director, writer, actor
The Aquabats! Super Show! (2014) - guest voice actor
Jessabelle (2014) – writer
Rocky and Bullwinkle - narrator (also writer)
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) – writer
Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ (2016) – director, actor