Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film ''

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy ...

''. He has also appeared in the films '' Just Like Heaven'', ''

The Benchwarmers ''The Benchwarmers'' is a 2006 American sports-comedy film produced by Revolution Studios and Happy Madison Productions, distributed by Columbia Pictures, directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allen Covert and Nick Swardson, and starring Rob Schnei ...

'', ''

School for Scoundrels School for Scoundrels may refer to: * ''School for Scoundrels'' (1960 film), a British comedy film starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Alistair Sim * ''School for Scoundrels'' (2006 film), an American film based on the above, featuring Bil ...

'', ''

Blades of Glory ''Blades of Glory'' is a 2007 American sports comedy film directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, written by Jeff Cox, Craig Cox, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, and starring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder with Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, William F ...

'', '' Mama's Boy'', '' When in Rome'', and as Roy Disney in ''

Walt Before Mickey ''Walt Before Mickey'' is a 2015 American biographical drama film about the early years of Walt Disney based on the book ''Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919–1928'' by Timothy S. Susanin, with a foreword written by Diane Disney. The ...

''. He also provided voice work for the animated films ''Monster House'', ''Surf's Up'', and ''Pinocchio'', as well as the ''Napoleon Dynamite'' animated series.

Early life

Heder was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, the son of Helen (née Brammer) and physician James Heder. He has an

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother, Dan; an older sister, Rachel; an older brother, Doug; and two younger brothers, Adam and Matt. He is of Swedish descent, and is a nephew by marriage of former NFL player Vai Sikahema. When he was about two years old, he and his parents moved to Salem, Oregon. He attended Walker Middle School in Salem and graduated from

South Salem High School South Salem High School is a public high school in Salem, Oregon. It was built in 1954 as the second public high school in the city. After South Salem opened, the former Salem High School was renamed North Salem High School. History South Salem ...

in 1996, where he was a member of the swim team and drama club. He is also an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

, and served as a

Scoutmaster A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...

in 2010. A 2002 alumnus of

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-d ...

, Heder worked on the short animated film ''Pet Shop''. When his acting career gained traction, he did not return to complete the work he had started on the short, though his name still appears in the credits. While attending BYU, he befriended

Jared Hess Jared Lawrence Hess (born July 18, 1979) and Jerusha Elizabeth Hess ( Demke; born May 12, 1980) are husband-and-wife American filmmakers best known for their work on ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (2004), ''Nacho Libre'' (2006) and '' Gentlemen Broncos ...

and starred in Hess' short film ''

Peluca ''Peluca'' is a short film by director Jared Hess, produced for an assignment while attending Brigham Young University in 2002. It was shown at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival. The film is almost nine minutes long and was shot on black-and-whi ...

'', which was later expanded into ''

''.

Career

The comedy feature ''

'', filmed in

Preston, Idaho Preston is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The Bear Ri ...

, earned $44.5 million. In June 2005, Heder received the

MTV Movie Award The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...

for Best Musical Performance and Breakthrough Male Performance for the role. On October 8, 2005, he hosted ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' with musical guest

Ashlee Simpson Ashley Nicolle Ross ( Simpson; born October 3, 1984), known professionally as Ashlee Simpson, is an American singer and actress. The younger sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson, she began her career as a back-up dancer for her sister ...

. Heder and his film co-star

Efren Ramirez Efrain Antonio Ramírez (born October 2, 1973) is an American actor and DJ, best known for playing Pedro Sánchez in the 2004 indie film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He later reprised his role in the 2012 animated series of the same name. Early ...

then filmed a series of commercials to promote the 2015

Utah State Fair The Utah State Fair is held at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The fairgrounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The fair takes place each year starting on the first Thursday after Labor Day a ...

, and reprised their roles in a

self-parody A self-parody is a parody of oneself or one's own work. As an artist accomplishes it by imitating their own characteristics, a self-parody is potentially difficult to distinguish from especially characteristic productions. Self-parody may be us ...

sketch, " Napoleon Bonamite", on the animated series '' Robot Chicken''. In 2005, Heder had a supporting role as a clerk in a

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

bookstore in the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

'' Just Like Heaven''. In 2006, he appeared in the comedy film ''

The Sasquatch Gang ''The Sasquatch Gang'' (also known as ''The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang'') is a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Tim Skousen, the first assistant director on ''Napoleon Dynamite''. The six-week shoot was completed in the summer of 2005. The fi ...

;'' and had a starring role with

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider (; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor, comedian, and screenwriter. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', he went on to a career in feature films, including starri ...

and

David Spade David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...

in producer Adam Sandler's ''

'' (2006), a comedy about three men making up for lost chances by creating their own

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team. Also in 2006, Heder was the voice of the character Skull in the animated film '' Monster House'', and starred in the comedy ''

'', opposite

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

and

Jacinda Barrett Jacinda Barrett (born 2 August 1972) is an Australian actress and former model. She first became known to audiences as a cast member on '' The Real World: London'' (1995) before appearing in films such as '' The Human Stain'' (2003), '' Bridget ...

. He co-starred in 2007 with

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

in the well-received ''

'' (2007) where, as in many of his films, he plays an absurd, slapstick caricature—this time, one of two rival figure skaters who must team up in a pairs competition. Heder's second turn at voice acting came in 2007 when he voiced Chicken Joe, a surfing chicken, in the animated film '' Surf's Up''. His first foray into web television was the 2008 web series '' Woke Up Dead,'' which he produced and starred in. The live-action, sci-fi comedy thriller follows Drex, a USC student who wakes up underwater in the bathtub one morning and suspects he may be dead. Heder and his twin brother, Dan, star together as villains in the fourth installment of the popular internet martial arts comedy series ''

Sockbaby ''Sockbaby'' is a four-part martial arts / comedy short film co-directed by Doug TenNapel and John Soares. ''Sockbaby'' originally premiered on Channel 101 (created by Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon) on January 25, 2004. ''Sockbaby'' follows Ronnie C ...

''. Heder's performance in '' When in Rome'' was praised by ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic A. O. Scott: "Jon Heder as a goofy street magician is the funniest of the bunch." In 2012, Heder returned to the role that made him famous by supplying the voice of Napoleon Dynamite in the

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

animated series, ''

'', which debuted in January 2012. In 2013, Heder appeared in the music video for " On Top of the World" with numerous other Utah-based actors and musicians, and in 2014 he appeared in the music video for the

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has ...

song "Old 45s". In January 2017, Heder reprised his role as Chicken Joe in '' Surf's Up 2: WaveMania'', the direct-to video sequel to ''Surf's Up''.

Personal life

Heder has been married to Kirsten Bales since 2002, having met her while attending

. They are members 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

and have four children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Video

Music videos

References

External links

* *
One of Jon Heders first projects

Snopes article debunking the myth of his death

Jon Heder on The Hour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heder, Jon 1977 births Male actors from Colorado Male actors from Salem, Oregon American male film actors Latter Day Saints from Colorado Latter Day Saints from Oregon Brigham Young University alumni Identical twin male actors Living people Actors from Fort Collins, Colorado American twins South Salem High School alumni 21st-century American male actors American male voice actors American people of Swedish descent People from Saugus, Santa Clarita, California American male television actors American Mormon missionaries in Japan