Jon Heder
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Jonathan Joseph Heder (born October 26, 1977) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in 2004's Napoleon Dynamite.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Heder was born in Fort Collins, Colorado to a family of six children, including a twin brother named Daniel. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served an LDS mission to Japan, and as a result can speak fluent Japanese. He is the nephew by marriage of former Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals running back and current WCAU sports caster, Vai Sikahema.[1]
Heder graduated from South Salem High School in Salem, Oregon in 1996. He is a 2003 alumnus of Brigham Young University. While attending, he befriended Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess and starred in his film Peluca, before making Napoleon Dynamite.
[edit] Career
Napoleon Dynamite earned more revenue than almost any other Sundance movie. Dynamite's trademark frizzy hair of Napoleon is actually a perm created for the character, contributing to his quirky image. In June 2005, Heder received the MTV Movie Awards for Best Musical Performance and Breakthrough Male Performance for the role. On October 8, 2005, he hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest Ashlee Simpson. Since his success with Dynamite, Heder and his film co-star Efren Ramirez have filmed a series of commercials to promote the 2005 Utah State Fair. They appear as their characters from Napoleon Dynamite. In at least one commercial, they are shown with their FFA medals that they won in the context of the movie.
Heder subsequently co-starred in the 2005 romantic comedy Just Like Heaven. He also starred alongside Rob Schneider and David Spade as part of the trio in producer Adam Sandler's The Benchwarmers (2006), a comedy about three grown men making up for lost chances by creating their own Little League baseball team. His most recent roles were as the voice of the character Skull in the animated film Monster House, and in the comedy School for Scoundrels, opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Jacinda Barrett.
Heder will next star in Blades of Glory with Will Ferrell, about male figure skaters.
[edit] Personal life
He currently lives with his wife Kirsten Heder in Los Angeles, California. The two have been married since 2002 and are expecting their first child.[2]
In 2005, an article on the web-site NinjaPirate.com started a heavily circulated, untrue rumor that Heder died in a car crash after leaving the wrap party for the film Moving McAllister.[3]
Heder's School for Scoundrels co-star, Billy Bob Thornton, has described Heder as a "Nice young Mormon man from Oregon",[4] while his other School for Scoundrels castmate, Jacinda Barrett, noted that Heder does not swear or work on Sundays.[5]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Napoleon Dynamite | Napoleon Dynamite | |
| 2005 | Just like Heaven | Darryl | |
| 2006 | The Benchwarmers | Clark | |
| 2006 | Monster House | Pizza Guy | Voice role |
| 2006 | School for Scoundrels | Roger | |
| 2006 | Mama's Boy | Oman | |
| 2007 | Blades of Glory | Filming | |
| 2007 | Surf's Up | Filming (voice role) | |
| 2007 | Moving McAllister | Orlie |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Dan Gross | Vai not big fan of actor/kin" article from Philly.com
- ^ "Napoleon Dynamite's Heder, Wife Expecting" from People.com
- ^ Blog post which started the "death in a carwreck" rumor
- ^ DailyNews.com. School is in session. Retrieved on September 24, 2006.
- ^ BostonHerald.com. Billy Bob teaches Jacinda in School. Retrieved on September 24, 2006.
