Thomas Lennon on Reno 911, The State, and playing doctors in Christopher Nolan movies

It’s been a while since we’ve talked with Thomas Lennon, best known for his work in front of the camera on Reno 911! and The State, and his work as a screenwriter with long-time writing partner Robert Ben Garant. In honor of his newest film, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, The A.V. Club sat down with the actor for a video version of our interview series Random Roles.

Lennon opened up about his very first film role, in Row Your Boat, opposite Jon Bon Jovi, and what it was like to spend a day on set with Terrence Malick for only one line of (off-screen) dialogue. He also tells us how Christopher Nolan convinced him to play a doctor in both Memento and The Dark Knight Rises, and how tough the break-up of The State was for him.