Thomas Lennon

For other uses, see Thomas Lennon (disambiguation).
Thomas Lennon

Lennon in 2015
Born Thomas Patrick Lennon
(1970-08-09) August 9, 1970
Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation Actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director
Years active 1991–present
Spouse(s) Jenny Robertson
Children 1

Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer and director best known as a cast member on MTV's The State and for his role as Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. He is the writing partner of Robert Ben Garant.

Early life

Lennon was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Kathleen and Timothy Lennon.[1] He is a 1988 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School, and is of Irish descent.[2] At age 16, Lennon met friend and future co-worker Kerri Kenney at Theatre Camp at Northwestern University. The two later attended NYU,[3] where they joined a comedy troupe called The New Group.

Career

Acting and performing

The New Group later changed their name to The State. After performing their material at various theaters and clubs in New York City, they started work on the MTV show You Wrote It, You Watch It. This led to the self-titled series The State (1993–95), which was nominated for a Cable Ace Award for Best Comedy Series.

Following the collapse of The State after one special on CBS, Lennon, along with Kenney, Robert Ben Garant and Michael Ian Black went on to create and star in the Comedy Central program Viva Variety (1997–99). The show was based on a sketch that Lennon had written for the final season of The State, called "The Mr. and Former Mrs. Laupin Variety Programme". Viva Variety received a Cable Ace Award nomination for Best Comedy Series. After Viva Variety, Lennon, Kenney and Garant created and starred in Reno 911! (2003–09). Initially slated for Fox, the program later debuted on Comedy Central.

Lennon has appeared in dozens of TV shows, including The League, Childrens Hospital, Party Down, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Comedy Bang Bang, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, and appeared as Joey Tribbiani's blackjack dealing, "identical hand twin" on the Friends fifth-season finale ("The One In Vegas," Pts. I and II).

Lennon has appeared in dozens of films, including Bad Teacher, Memento, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and I Love You, Man, for which he and costar Paul Rudd were nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss. He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, The Daily Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and at 31, has the second-most number of appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Lennon appeared as a doctor in the Christopher Nolan films Memento (2000) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).[4]

Lennon has done various voice work, including Kim Possible, Bob's Burgers, Archer and Planet Sheen, in which he played the character of Pinter. He plays Scribble in Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings and Tinkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast. He supplied the voice of Eddie the Shipboard Computer in the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and plays the voice of Fearless Leader in the 2014 DreamWorks short film version of Rocky and Bullwinkle and he is the voice of Munk on Dawn of the Croods

In 2008, Lennon started doing stand-up comedy, during which he will sometimes play guitar. He has appeared on The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, The Jeselnik Offensive, and The Benson Interruption. He was the guest on the first episode of The Nerdist Podcast, which was also recorded in his garage.

Lennon and Garant created and starred in a 2010 sitcom pilot for NBC called The Strip. In May that year it was announced that NBC had decided not to produce it as a series.

Lennon filled in as guest voice for the robot sidekick Geoff Peterson on the CBS show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in November and December 2011.

Since its premiere in October 2013, Lennon has appeared 15 times on the late-night internet-based improv panel game show, @midnight (which he also produces), winning a total of five times.[5]

In 2014, Lennon was cast as Felix Unger in the reboot television series The Odd Couple opposite Matthew Perry, who plays Oscar Madison.[6] He also will star in Paramount Animation's Monster Trucks.[7]

At the 2016 People's Choice Awards ceremony, he participated in an on-stage sketch parodying the recent gaffe by Steve Harvey at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant. [8]

Screenwriting

Lennon is a screenwriter and script doctor. Most of Lennon's screenplays are written in collaboration with partner Robert Ben Garant.[3] Their films have earned over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office.[9]

Among Garant and Lennon's credits are the Night at the Museum films.

Lennon is the author of four of IFC's "50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time".[10]

In August 2010, John Landgraf, president of FX Network, announced that his network had ordered a pilot episode for a new Garant/Lennon science fiction television comedy called USS Alabama, set 1000 years in the future, aboard a United Nations peacekeeping spaceship, the U.S.S. Alabama.[4]

Garant and Lennon released a book about writing for film called Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can Too! in 2011.[9]

In 2012, Garant and Lennon wrote a film version of Baywatch. They wrote The Machine, which is set to star Vin Diesel. Garant and Lennon wrote, directed and starred in the 2013 film Hell Baby starring Rob Corddry and Leslie Bibb. The film was produced by Darko Entertainment, and shot on location in New Orleans, Louisiana. Hell Baby premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.[4]

Personal life

Lennon lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Jenny Robertson,[3] and their son Oliver.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Drop Dead Gorgeous Documentarian Voice only
2000 Memento Doctor
2000 Row Your Boat Census taker
2001 Out Cold Eric Montclare
2002 Boat Trip The priest
2003 Le Divorce Roger Walker
2003 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Thayer
2003 A Guy Thing Pete Morse
2004 Taxi N/A Writer
2004 Heights Marshall
2006 Conversations with Other Women Videographer
2005 Herbie: Fully Loaded Larry Murphy Writer
2005 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Eddie the Shipboard Computer Voice only
2005 The Godfather of Green Bay D.U.G.
2005 The Pacifier Writer
2006 Night at the Museum Writer
2006 Let's Go to Prison Writer
2006 Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas Police officer
2006 Eden Court Shroeder Duncan
2007 Balls of Fury Karl Wolfschtagg Writer, producer
2007 Reno 911!: Miami Lieutenant Jim Dangle Writer, executive producer
2008 Hancock Mike
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Orville Wright Writer
Uncredited cameo
2009 17 Again Ned Gold
2009 I Love You, Man Doug
2010 Hot Tub Time Machine Customer Uncredited
2011 Cedar Rapids Roger Lemke
2011 How to Survive a Robot Uprising Writer
2011 Bad Teacher Carl Halabi
2011 What's Your Number? Dr. Barrett 'Barry' Ingold
2011 A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Todd
2012 What to Expect When You're Expecting Craig
2012 The Dark Knight Rises Doctor
2013 Hell Baby Pat Writer, producer, director (with Robert Ben Garant)
2013 Rapture-Palooza Mr. Murphy
2013 We're the Millers Rick Nathanson
2014 Mr. Peabody and Sherman Italian Peasant #2 Voice only
2014 Transformers: Age of Extinction Chief of Staff
2015 Knight of Cups Tom
2017 Monster Trucks Filming
2017 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Michael O'Donoghue Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1993 The State Several characters 27 episodes
1997 Viva Variety Host Meredith Laupin 16 episodes
1999 Friends Randall Season 5, Episode 23 and 24 "The One in Vegas"
1999–2000 Jesse Ernie 2 episodes
2002 MDs Chester E. Donge 8 episodes
2003–09 Reno 911! Lieutenant Jim Dangle Also creator
2006 Stacked Gary Episode: "You're Getting Sleepy"
2007 Wainy Days Ice Cream Man Episode: "Dorvid Days"
2009 The League Bryce Episode: "The Usual Bet"
2010 Archer Charles Voice only; 3 episodes
2010 Party Down Nick DiCintio Season 2, Episode 3 - "Nick DiCintio's Orgy Night"
2010–13 Planet Sheen Pinter/Blurg Voice only; 15 episodes
2011 Memphis Beat Keith Grant Season 2, Episode 2
2011 Childrens Hospital Pat Episode: "Home Is Where the Hospital Is"
2012 New Girl Neil Episode: "See Ya"
2012–15 Comedy Bang! Bang! Various 4 episodes
2012 How I Met Your Mother Klaus 8.01, 8.02
2012 Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 Trey Guest role
2012–14 Bob's Burgers Chuck Voice only; 3 episodes
2013 Franklin & Bash Harley Season 3, Episode 9
2013–14 Newsreaders Vincent Gates/Pritchard Batchman 3 episodes
2013 NTSF:SD:SUV:: Santa Episode: "Wreck the Halls"
2013 Sean Saves the World Max Recurring role
2013 @midnight Contestant (.364 Win Average)/Executive producer Executive producer
2014 Hollywood Game Night Himself Episode: "Things That Go Clue-Boom in the Night"
2014 The Goldbergs Tauntaun Todd Episode: "A Wrestler Named Goldberg"
2014 Hot in Cleveland Agent Gilmore Season 5, Episode 2: "Surprise!"
2014 The Birthday Boys Lou Skywalker Episode: "Cerf's Folly"
2015 The Hotwives of Las Vegas Garrett Truesdale Episode: "You Make Me Wanna Drought"
2015–present The Odd Couple Felix Unger Main role
2015 Another Period Marquis de Sainsbury 3 episodes
2015 Drunk History Major Jesse Marcel Episode: "New Mexico"
2016 Animals. Kevin Voice only; Episode: "Rats."
2016 Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Serge Episode: "Roger Me Rightly"

References

  1. "That cop in the short shorts". Nl.newsbank.com. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  2. "Thomas Lennon Interview". Video.about.com. 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  3. 1 2 3 Pearlman, Cindy. "Oak Park native acts, writes way to 'Reno 911!' and beyond", Chicago Sun-Times. Published April 15, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 Thomas Lennon at the Internet Movie Database
  5. "Tom Lennon". Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  6. Ausiello, Michael. "The Odd Couple Pilot Scoop: Look Who's Playing the Felix to Matthew Perry's Oscar". TVLine.com. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  7. "Thomas Lennon Straps In For Paramount’s ‘Monster Trucks’". deadline.com. April 10, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  8. "Jane Lynch Spoofs Steve Harvey's Miss Universe Gaffe At People's Choice Awards". Huffington Post. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Morning Edition (2011-07-05). "You Too Can Be A Successful Screenwriter". NPR. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  10. "50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time" Nerve/IFC; April 7, 2008

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