Jump to content

Thomas Lennon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ser Amantio di Nicolao (talk | contribs) at 04:09, 4 August 2020 (add category). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses, see Thomas Lennon (disambiguation).

Thomas Lennon
Lennon in 2015
Lennon in 2015
BornThomas Patrick Lennon
(1970-08-09) August 9, 1970 (age 54)
Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • screenwriter
Alma materNew York University
Years active1991–present
Spouse
Jenny Robertson
​
(m. 2002)​
Children1

Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director and novelist. As an actor he is best known for his work as a cast member on MTV's The State, for his role as Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the Comedy Central series Reno 911! and as Felix Unger on the CBS series The Odd Couple. Lennon is also an accomplished screenwriter of several major studio comedies with writing partner Robert Ben Garant. Their films include comedies such as the Night at the Museum films, The Pacifier, Balls of Fury, and Baywatch.

Early life

Lennon was born in Oak Park, Illinois. Of Irish and Scottish descent,[1][2] he is the son of Kathleen (McSheehy) and Timothy Lennon.[3] He graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 1988.

At the age of 16, he met friend and future co-star Kerri Kenney at Theatre Camp at Northwestern University. The two later attended NYU,[4] where they joined a comedy troupe called The New Group.

Career

Acting and performing

While Lennon was a member of The New Group, the comedy troupe changed its name to The State. As they performed their material at theaters and clubs in New York City, they worked 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 1995 Cable Ace Award for Best Comedy Series. That same year, they created a special for CBS called The State's 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special.

Following the departure of The State from MTV, and failed long-term deals with both ABC and 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 1997 Cable Ace Award nomination for Best Comedy Series. After Viva Variety, Lennon, Kenney and Garant created and starred in Reno 911! (2003–09). The series was initially slated for Fox, but the channel rejected it for being too risque, and the program eventually ended up on Comedy Central.

Lennon has appeared as a guest star 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. One of his notable guest starring roles was as Joey Tribbiani's blackjack dealing, "identical hand twin" on the Friends fifth-season finale ("The One In Vegas," Pts. I and II). Additionally, he has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show, The Daily Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and at 31, had the second-highest number of appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

In 2008, Lennon started doing stand-up comedy, occasionally playing guitar and incorporating music. 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 Chris Hardwick's The Nerdist Podcast, which was recorded in Lennon's garage.

In 2010, Lennon and Garant created and starred in a 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.

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

Lennon has also appeared in numerous 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 a 2009 MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss. In both Christopher Nolan's film Memento (2000) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Lennon played the role of a doctor.[5]

Lennon's voice acting work includes Kim Possible, Bob's Burgers, Archer and Planet Sheen, in which he played the character of Pinter. He played Scribble in Secret of the Wings and Tinker Bell 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. He is also the voice of Munk on Dawn of the Croods and the voice of Chief O'Hara in the Warner Brothers animated film Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.

Lennon was a producer of the 2013-2017 late-night panel game show, @midnight, hosted by Hardwick, and appeared 17 times on the show as a panelist/contestant. He won the show seven times.[6]

Lennon played Felix Unger in 2015-2017 television series reboot of The Odd Couple opposite Matthew Perry, who played Oscar Madison.[7] In 2016, he co-starred as a scientist in Paramount Animation's Monster Trucks and began a recurring role on the Fox action sitcom Lethal Weapon as Leo Getz, a character previously portrayed on film by Joe Pesci. 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]

In 2020, he will recur in Supergirl’s fifth season as Mr. Mxyzpltk, taking over from Peter Gadiot.[9]

Screenwriting

Thomas Lennon is a successful screenwriter and script doctor. Most of Lennon's screenplays are written in collaboration with writing partner Robert Ben Garant.[4] Their films have earned over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office.[10]

Among Garant and Lennon's credits are the Night at the Museum films, the 2005 Disney comedy The Pacifier and the 2006 prison comedy Let's Go to Prison.

In 2010, FX Network ordered a pilot episode for a 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.[5] 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.[10]

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.[5] Garant and Lennon are credited as story co-writers on the film version of Baywatch (2017).

More recently, The Machine, written by Garant and Lennon, is set to star Vin Diesel. Additionally, their script Action No. 1 is in pre-production.

Lennon is also the author of four of IFC's "50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time."[11]

Novels

Lennon has written two young adult novels Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles, and Ronan Boyle and the Swamp of Certain Death. Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list.[12][13][14][15]

Personal life

Lennon lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Jenny Robertson, and their son Oliver (born 2009).[4] He is a fan of The Smiths and Morrissey,[16] occasionally performing live with the tribute band "Sweet and Tender Hooligans" as a guitarist.[17] Lennon is close friends with Weird Al Yankovic.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1994 A Friend of Dorothy Moonie Short film
1998 Row Your Boat Census Taker
1999 Drop Dead Gorgeous Documentarian (voice)
2000 Memento Doctor
2001 Out Cold Eric Montclare
2002 Boat Trip The priest
2003 Le Divorce Roger Walker
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Thayer
A Guy Thing Pete Morse
2004 Taxi N/A Writer
Heights Marshall
2005 Conversations with Other Women Videographer
Herbie: Fully Loaded Larry Murphy Writer
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Eddie the Shipboard Computer (voice)
The Godfather of Green Bay D.U.G.
The Pacifier N/A Writer
2006 Night at the Museum N/A Writer
Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas Police officer
Let's Go to Prison Writer
Eden Court Shroeder Duncan
2007 Balls of Fury Karl Wolfschtagg Writer, producer
Reno 911!: Miami Lieutenant Jim Dangle Writer, executive producer
The Ten Scotty Pale
2008 Hancock Mike
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Orville Wright Writer
Uncredited cameo
17 Again Ned Gold
I Love You, Man Doug
Al's Brain in 3-D Co-Worker Short film
2010 Hot Tub Time Machine Customer Uncredited
2011 Cedar Rapids Roger Lemke
How to Survive a Robot Uprising Writer
Bad Teacher Carl Halabi
What's Your Number? Dr. Barrett 'Barry' Ingold
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Todd
2012 The Hunger Pains Buttitch Totalapathy Short film
What to Expect When You're Expecting Craig
The Dark Knight Rises Doctor
Secret of the Wings Reading Fairy (voice)
Howard Cantour.com Rocco Short film
2013 Hell Baby Pat Writer, producer, director (with Robert Ben Garant)
Rapture-Palooza Mr. Murphy
Jerry, the Exorcist Roommate Jerry Short film
We're the Millers Rick Nathanson
2014 Mr. Peabody and Sherman Italian Peasant #2 (voice) Also wrote additional dialogue
Transformers: Age of Extinction Chief of Staff
Rocky & Bullwinkle Fearless Leader / Mayan Princess (voice) Short film; also writer
Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast Scribble (voice)
2015 Knight of Cups Tom
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 BMW Guy Uncredited
Grand Zero David Van Vleck Short film
2016 Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Chief O'Hara / Prison Warden (voice)
Monster Trucks Dr. Jim Dowd
2017 Baywatch N/A Story writer
Pottersville Brock Masterson
Batman vs. Two-Face Chief O'Hara (voice)
2018 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Michael O'Donoghue
The 15:17 to Paris Principal Michael Akers
Half Magic Darren
Dog Days Greg
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich Edgar
2020 Valley Girl Rodney Bingheimer
TBA Cherry Post-production
TBA Shoplifters of the World Uncle Dick Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992 You Wrote It, You Watch It Various Also writer
1993–95 The State Various characters Also co-creator and writer
1995 The State's 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special Various characters Television special; also writer
1997 Viva Variety Host Meredith Laupin 16 episodes; also writer
1997–99 Hercules Atlas (voice) 3 episodes
1999 Friends Randall 2 episodes
Strangers with Candy N/A Writer: "Bogie Nights"
1999–2000 Jesse Ernie 2 episodes
2001 The Legend of Tarzan Landlord (voice) Episode: "Tarzan and the Mysterious Visitor"
2002 Kim Possible Unknown character (voice) Episode: "Kimitation Nation"
MDs Chester E. Donge 8 episodes
2003–2009, 2020 Reno 911! Lieutenant Jim Dangle Also creator
2004–06 Brandy & Mr. Whiskers Vic (voice) 2 episodes
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 Party Down Nick DiCintio Episode: "Nick DiCintio's Orgy Night"
Svetlana Fyodor Episode: "Wish Fulfillment"
2010–11 Funny or Die Presents Richard / Co-pilot 5 episodes
2010–13 Planet Sheen Pinter / Blurg (voices) 15 episodes
2010–19 Archer Charles (voice) 4 episodes
2011 Memphis Beat Keith Grant Episode: "Inside Man"
Childrens Hospital Pat Episode: "Home Is Where the Hospital Is"
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Geoff Peterson The Robot Skeleton - Chloe Banderas (voice) 3 episodes
2012–15 Comedy Bang! Bang! Various 4 episodes
2012 New Girl Neil Episode: "See Ya"
How I Met Your Mother Klaus 2 episodes
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 Trey Epis
Blake Shelton's Not So Family Christmas Director Television special
2012–18 Bob's Burgers Chuck / various (voice) 5 episodes
2013 Franklin & Bash Harley Episode: "Shoot to Thrill"
NTSF:SD:SUV:: Santa Episode: "Wreck the Halls"
@midnight Contestant Also executive producer
Key & Peele Person at People Park #5 Episode: "Pussy on the Chainwax"
Wendell & Vinnie Lord Derek Episode: "Swindle & Vinnie"
2013–14 Sean Saves the World Max Thompson 14 episodes
Newsreaders Vincent Gates / Pritchard Batchman 3 episodes
2014 Hollywood Game Night Himself Episode: "Things That Go Clue-Boom in the Night"
The Goldbergs Tauntaun Todd Episode: "A Wrestler Named Goldberg"
Hot in Cleveland Agent Gilmore Episode: "Surprise!"
The Birthday Boys Lou Skywalker Episode: "Cerf's Folly"
Comedy Central's All-Star Non-Denominational Christmas Special N/A Television special; writer
2015 Over the Garden Wall Jimmy Brown (voice) Episode: "Chapter 3: Schooltown Follies"
The Hotwives Garrett Truesdale Episode: "You Make Me Wanna Drought"
Crash Test: With Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer Studio Security Television special
Robot Chicken Various (voices) Episode: "Garbage Sushi"
2015–17 The Odd Couple Felix Unger Main role; 38 episodes
2015–16 Another Period Marquis de Sainsbury 5 episodes
TripTank Caller / Broker / Rob (voice) 3 episodes
Dawn of the Croods Munk / Crud (voices) 9 episodes
2015–19 Drunk History Various 3 episodes
2016 Animals. Kevin (voice) Episode: "Rats."
2016–17 Goldie & Bear Brian (voice) 2 episodes
Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures Wick Cooper / Cleaning Droid (voices) 6 episodes
2016–19 Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Serge 9 episodes; also executive producer
American Dad! Various voices 8 episodes
2017–19 Santa Clarita Diet Principal Novak Recurring role; 6 episodes
Lethal Weapon Leo Getz Recurring role
2017 Milo Murphy's Law Henry (voice) Episode: "Murphy's Lard"
Justice League Action Amazo (voice) Episode: "Boo-ray for Bizarro"
2017–18 Spirit Riding Free Garrett Truesdale (voice) 2 episodes
2018 The Thundermans Assista Boy Episode: "Side-Kicking and Screaming"
For the People Freddie Morris/Captain Shadow[18] Episode: "Everybody's a Superhero"
Dallas & Robo Dr. John Eichler / Dickie St. James Episode: "Murder on the Georgia Overdrive"
Legend of the Three Caballeros Clinton Coot (voice) 8 episodes
Sideswiped Aaron Cunningham Episode: "Matched Up"
2019 Teachers LarryBop Episode: "Face Your Peers"
Knight Squad Sir Angus Macchio Episode: "Knight of the Living Dead"
Critters: A New Binge Mr. Weber 3 episodes
American Housewife Simon Episode: “Insta-Friends”
At Home with Amy Sedaris Edwin Chuzzlewit Episode: "Halloween"
Modern Family Orson Episode: "Can't Elope"
Veep President of CBS Episode: "Oslo"
Where's Waldo? Wizard Whitebeard[19] Main voice role
Crank Yankers Himself (voice) Episode: "Tiffany Haddish, Roy Wood Jr. & Thomas Lennon"
2020 Supergirl Mr. Mxyzpltk Episode: "It’s A Super Life"
The Twilight Zone J.J. Malloy Episode: "Ovation"
Home Movie: The Princess Bride[20] Prince Humperdink Multiple episodes

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2019 Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television Himself Episode: "For Your Inconsideration"

References

  1. ^ Hamill, Julie (November 13, 2016). "Julie Hamill • 15 Minutes With Thomas Lennon, actor". Juliehamill.com. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  2. ^ Pollak, Kevin (September 11, 2018), "KPCS: Thomas Lennon #371", YouTube, retrieved September 22, 2018
  3. ^ Houston, John P. (April 9, 2009). "That cop in the short shorts". Oak Leaves. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Pearlman, Cindy. "Oak Park native acts, writes way to 'Reno 911!' and beyond", Chicago Sun-Times. Published April 15, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c Thomas Lennon at IMDb
  6. ^ "Tom Lennon". Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  7. ^ Ausiello, Michael (March 13, 2014). "The Odd Couple Pilot Scoop: Look Who's Playing the Felix to Matthew Perry's Oscar". TVLine.com. Retrieved March 14, 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. ^ Boucher, Geoff; Petski, Denise (December 10, 2019). "'Supergirl': Thomas Lennon To Recur As Mxyzptlk In CW Series". Deadline.
  10. ^ a b "You Too Can Be A Successful Screenwriter". NPR. Morning Edition. July 5, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  11. ^ "50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time" IFC; April 7, 2008
  12. ^ "Children's Middle Grade Hardcover Books - Best Sellers - March 24, 2019 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Perkins, Dennis (March 5, 2019). "On The Late Show, Thomas Lennon shows clips from his first novel—wait, what?". The A.V. Club.
  14. ^ Regan, Jarlath (March 2, 2019). "Tom Lennon". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (285 ed.). Retrieved March 6, 2019. Ronan Boyle and the Swamp of Certain Death released on March 17, 2020
  15. ^ "Ronan Boyle and the Swamp of Certain Death, Thomas Lennon". March 2, 2020.
  16. ^ Harris, Will (October 17, 2016). "Interview: Thomas Lennon spontaneously pares down his list of quintessential Smiths songs". Rhino Entertainment. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "Sweet & Tender Hooligans – About". Sweetandtenderhooligans.com. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  18. ^ Turchiano, Danielle (February 8, 2018). "Thomas Lennon Books Guest Role on 'For The People'". Variety. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  19. ^ Petski, Denise (April 26, 2019). "'Where's Waldo?': Joshua Rush, Haley Tju, Eva Carlton & Thomas Lennon Lead Voice Cast For Universal Kids Series From DreamWorks Animationi". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  20. ^ Breznican, Anthony (June 26, 2020). "Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Lennon.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Lennon&oldid=971095961"