Kirby Heyborne (born October 8, 1976) is an American actor, musician, singer, songwriter, narrator and comedian. He is known for his work in

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

centered around the culture of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). Heyborne has also worked extensively as an audiobook narrator, narrating more than 300 books. He has won two

Odyssey Award The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United State ...

s and an

Audie Award for Middle Grade Title The Audie Award for Middle Grade Title is one of the Audie Awards The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audio ...

. In 2015, ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' named him a Voice of Choice narrator.

Early life and education

Heyborne graduated from Alta High School in 1995 where he was student body president. He is a member of the LDS Church and served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

for the church in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. He later graduated from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

with a degree in Economics.

Career

Heyborne is both an actor and a musician. He has released several CDs on which he sings and plays the guitar. However, Heyborne first became widely popular in LDS Church culture after starring in the film ''

The R.M. ''The R.M.'' is a 2003 comedy film about the experiences of a returned missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). "RM" is an LDS initialism for "returned missionary". It was written by Kurt Hale and John E. Mo ...

'' (2003). His first appearance in a non-LDS film was as "Teddy" in ''

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

'' (2012). He is also an accomplished narrator, and has provided voice work for many novels, short stories, and non-fiction titles. Heyborne generated some controversy in the Latter-day Saint community in 2008 after deciding to appear in a

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors (previously MillerCoors) of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch's Bu ...

beer commercial. Devout members of the LDS Church do not drink alcohol, and his appearance in a beer commercial was perceived as hypocritical. Heyborne stated that he would prefer to act only in roles aligned with his faith but was unable to predict which offers he might receive. He interpreted the Miller Lite opportunity as an answer to prayer, and a way to feed his family. He was later denied the chance to play at LDS Church-owned

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU), where he had often played in the past, allegedly due to his involvement with the commercial. He also had appeared in a

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

commercial in late-summer 2013, promoting sales for

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

phones for an upcoming back-to-school sale. This commercial aired during the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

primetime lineup on August 26, 2013. In 2019, he began as host for a new show on

BYUtv BYU TV (stylized as BYUtv) is a television channel, founded in 2000, which is owned and operated as a part of Brigham Young University (BYU). The channel, available through cable and satellite distributors in the United States, produces a number ...

called "Making Good."

Awards and honors

In 2015, ''

'' named Heyborne a Voice of Choice narrator, noting that he has a "skill at voicing accents and dialects, perhaps enhanced by his musical knowledge and ear, comes up frequently in reviews."

Awards

"Best of" lists

Works

Filmography

*''Social Suicide'' (2001) - Tuff Christopherson *''

The Singles Ward The Singles Ward franchise includes the original film, ''The Singles Ward'' from 2002 and the 2007 sequel, ''The Singles 2nd Ward'', both directed and written by Kurt Hale and John Moyer. The Singles Ward ''The Singles Ward'' is a 2002 romantic ...

'' (2002) - Dalen Martin *''

'' (2003) - Jared Phelps *'' The Work and the Story'' (2003) - Ephraim Thomas *''

Saints and Soldiers ''Saints and Soldiers'' is a 2003 war drama film directed by Ryan Little and produced by Little and Adam Abel. It is loosely based on events that took place after the Malmedy massacre during the Battle of the Bulge. The film stars Corbin Allred, ...

'' (2003) - Flight Sergeant Oberon Winley *'' The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey'' (2003) - Sam *''

The Best Two Years ''The Best Two Years'' is a 2003 dramedy film written and directed by Scott S. Anderson. It is based on the stage play ''The Best Two Years of My Life'', also by Anderson. It portrays the experience of four LDS missionaries living in an apartmen ...

'' (2003) - Elder Hezekiah Calhoun *''

Everwood ''Everwood'' (known as ''Our New Life in Everwood'' in the United Kingdom) is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti, Mickey Liddell, Rina Mimoun, Andrew A. Ackerman and Michael Green served as executive produce ...

'' (2003) - Mr. Perkins *''Hoops'' (2004) - Ethan *''

Sons of Provo ''Sons of Provo'' is a 2004 film written by Peter Brown and Will Swenson, and directed by Will Swenson. It is a mockumentary that portrays the experience of an LDS boy band named Everclean from formation to resounding success. Sons of Provo ma ...

'' (2004) - Kirby Laybourne *''The Last Chapter'' (2004) - Jonathan *'' Pirates of the Great Salt Lake'' (2006) - Kirk Redgrave/Nose Beard *''Lazy Muncie'' (2006) - Himself *'' Free Ride'' (2006) - Dylan Hudney *''Take a Chance'' (2006) - Eugene Buddles *''Praise to the Man'' (2006) - Oliver Cowdery *''Together Again for the First Time'' (2008) - Roger Wolders *''The Singles 2nd Ward'' (2007) - Dalen Martin *''Scout Camp'' (2009) - Kerry *''Midway to Heaven'' (2011) - David *''

'' (2012) - Teddy *''Sorry'' (2013) *''

The Client List ''The Client List'' is an American television film that premiered on the Lifetime Network on July 19, 2010. It starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and was directed by Eric Laneuville. The film is a fictionalized dramatization of a 2004 prostitution scan ...

'' (2013, TV series, season 1 episode 7) *''

Extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

'' (2017, TV series) - voice of Red Drone

Discography

*''Inside'' - (2005) *''Braver Days'' ( May 2006) *''Merry White Tree in the Night'' (Oct 2006) *''The RM Soundtrack'' - " If You Could Hie to Kolob" *''Sons of Provo'' Soundtrack *''The Gone Away World'' by Nick Harkaway - Narrator (2008) *''Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'' by

Rachel Cohn Rachel Cohn (born December 14, 1968) is an American young adult fiction writer. Her first book, '' Gingerbread'', was published in 2002. Since then she has gone on to write many other successful YA and younger children's books, and has collabora ...

David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written numer ...

- Narrator (2008) *''The Elm Tree'' - Released March 31, 2009 *''The Long Walk'' by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

writing as Richard Bachman - Narrator (2010) *''Fat Vampire'' by Adam Rex - Narrator (2010) *''Rotters'' by Daniel Kraus - Narrator (2011) *''Everybody Sees the Ants'' by A. S. King - Narrator (2012) *''Come to Zion, Vol. 1: The Winds and the Waves'' by Dean Hughes - Narrator (2012) * '' Gone Girl'' by

Gillian Flynn Gillian Schieber Flynn (; born February 24, 1971) is an American author, screenwriter, and producer. She is known for writing the thriller and mystery novels, '' Sharp Objects'' (2006), '' Dark Places'' (2009), and '' Gone Girl'' (2012), which ar ...

- Narrator (with

Julia Whelan Julia May Whelan (born May 8, 1984) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her role as Grace Manning on the television family drama series '' Once and Again'' (1999–2002), and her co-starring role in the 2002 Lifetime movie ' ...

) (2012) *''Scowler'' by Daniel Kraus - Narrator (2013) *''Breathe'' by Abbi Glines - Narrator (2013) *''Taipei'' by Tao Lin - Narrator (2013) *''Come to Zion, Vol. 2: Through Cloud and Sunshine'' by Dean Hughes - Narrator (2013) *''Fifteen Minutes'' by

Karen Kingsbury Karen Kingsbury (born June 8, 1963) is an American Christian novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists ...

- Narrator (2013) *'' Hollow City'' by

Ransom Riggs Ransom Riggs (born February 3, 1979) is an American writer and filmmaker best known for the book ''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children''. Early life and education Riggs was born in Maryland in 1979 on a 200-year-old farm, and grew up in ...

- Narrator (2014) *''Rumble'' by

Ellen Hopkins Ellen Louise Hopkins (born March 26, 1955) is a novelist who has published several ''New York Times'' bestseller, bestselling novels that are popular among the teenage and young adult audience. Personal life Hopkins was adopted by Albert and Val ...

- Narrator (2014) *''The Family of Jesus'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with

January LaVoy January LaVoy (born in Trumbull, Connecticut) is an American actress and audiobook narrator. As an actress, she is most recognized as Noelle Ortiz on the ABC daytime drama '' One Life to Live''. LaVoy made her Broadway debut in the Broadway pr ...

) (2014) *''Angels Walking'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2014) *''A Generation Rising (Fire and Steel, Vol. 1)'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2014) *''Only the Brave: The Continuing Story of the San Juan Pioneers'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2014) *''Come to Zion, Vol. 3: Fresh Courage Take'' by Dean Hughes - Narrator (2014) *''Ashfall'' by Mike Mullin - Narrator (2015) *''

All the Bright Places ''All the Bright Places'' is a young adult fiction novel by Jennifer Niven which is based on the author's personal story. The novel was first published on January 6, 2015 through Knopf Publishing Group and is Niven's first young adult book. A fi ...

'' by

Jennifer Niven Jennifer Niven is a New York Times and international best selling American author who is best known for the 2015 young adult book, ''All the Bright Places''. Life and career Niven grew up in Indiana. As well as writing novels, Niven has also ...

- Narrator (2015) *''The Friends of Jesus'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2015) *''Chasing Sunsets (Angels Walking, book 2)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2015) *''The Orphan Army: The Nightsiders, book 1'' by

Jonathan Maberry Jonathan Maberry (born May 18, 1958) is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers. ...

- Narrator (2015) *''The Storm Descends (Fire and Steel, Vol. 2)'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2015) *''

Library of Souls ''Library of Souls'' is a sequel to 2014 novel '' Hollow City'' written by Ransom Riggs and third book in the series of ''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children''. It was released on September 22, 2015 by Quirk Books Quirk Books is an ...

'' by Ransom Riggs - Narrator (2015) *''Fires of Invention (Mysteries of Cove, Vol. 1)'' by Jeffrey Scott Savage - Narrator (2015) *''Youngblood'' by Matt Gallagher - Narrator (2016) *''To Soar with Eagles'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2016) *''Brush of Wings (Angels Walking, book 3)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2016) *''The Shadow Falls (Fire and Steel, Vol. 3)'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2016) *''Gears of Revolution (Mysteries of Cove, Vol. 2)'' by Jeffrey Scott Savage - Narrator (2016) *''A Baxter Family Christmas (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2016) *''Dragonwatch: A Fablehaven Adventure (Dragonwatch, Vol. 1)'' by Brandon Mull - Narrator (2017) *''The Proud Shall Stumble (Fire and Steel, Vol. 4)'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2017) *''Love Story (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2017) *''In This Moment (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2017) *''Embers of Destruction (Mysteries of Cove, Vol. 3)'' by Jeffrey Scott Savage - Narrator (2017) *''Out of the Smoke (Fire and Steel, Vol. 5)'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2018) *’’I Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver, Vol. 1)’’ by Dan Wells - Narrator (2018) *''Dragonwatch: Wrath of the Dragon King (Dragonwatch, Vol. 2)'' by Brandon Mull - Narrator (2018) *'' A Map of Days'' by Ransom Riggs - Narrator (2018) *''To the Moon and Back (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2018) *''When We Were Young (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2018) *''Two Weeks (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2019) *''Into the Flames (Fire and Steel, Vol. 6)'' by Gerald N. Lund - Narrator (2019) *''Muddy: Where Faith and Polygamy Collide (Muddy, Vol. 1)'' by Dean Hughes - Narrator (2019) *''Dragonwatch: Master of the Phantom Isle (Dragonwatch, Vol. 3)'' by Brandon Mull - Narrator (2019) *''River: Where Faith and Consecration Converge (Muddy, Vol. 2)'' by Dean Hughes - Narrator (2020) *''The Volunteer Effect'' by Jason Young and Jonathan Malm - Narrator (2020) *''Dragonwatch: Champion of the Titan Games (Dragonwatch, Vol. 4)'' by Brandon Mull - Narrator (2020) *''Someone Like You (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2020) *''Truly, Madly Deeply (The Baxters)'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2020) *''A Distant Shore'' by Karen Kingsbury - Narrator (with January LaVoy) (2021) *''Dragonwatch: Return of the Dragon Slayers (Dragonwatch, Vol. 5)'' by Brandon Mull - Narrator (2021)

References

External links

Official Kirby Heyborne site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heyborne, Kirby 1976 births American Mormon missionaries in the Dominican Republic Living people Musicians from Utah People from Evanston, Wyoming Place of birth missing (living people) University of Utah alumni Latter Day Saints from Wyoming American male film actors American male voice actors Latter Day Saints from Utah