Jon Heder
Jonathan Joseph Heder (born October 26, 1977 in Fort Collins, Colorado), better known as Jon Heder, is an American actor and filmmaker, most famous for his portrayal of the title character in 2004's Napoleon Dynamite. The trademark frizzy hair of Napoleon Dynamite is actually a perm created for the character, contributing to his quirky image. This was his debut movie, which earned more revenue than almost any other Sundance movie.
Heder is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served an LDS mission to Japan. Jon currently lives with his wife Kirsten Heder in Los Angeles, California. He also has an identical twin brother named Daniel. He is the nephew of former Philadelphia Eagles Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals running back and current WCAU sports caster, Vai Sikahema.[1]
Heder is a 2003 alumnus of Brigham Young University. While attending, he befriended Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess and starred in his films Peluca and Napoleon Dynamite. Since his success with Dynamite, Heder and 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.
In June 2005, Heder received the MTV Movie Awards for Best Musical Performance and Breakthrough Male Performance. On October 8th, Heder hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest Ashlee Simpson.
In 2005, an Internet article [2] started a heavily circulated (and blatantly untrue) rumor that Heder died in a car crash, although this rumor has since died down.
Heder co-starred in the 2005 romantic comedy Just Like Heaven. He also stars alongside Rob Schneider and David Spade as part of the trio in producer Adam Sandler's comedy The Benchwarmers (2006), a comedy about three grown men making up for lost chances by creating their own Little League baseball team, competing against other Little League teams. His latest role is the voice of the character Skull in the movie Monster House, portraying him as a Napoleon Dynamite-like character.
Filmography
2004 Napoleon Dynamite----Napoleon Dynamite
2005 Just Like Heaven----Darryl
2006 The Benchwarmers----Clark
2006 Monster House----Reginald "Skull" Skulinski
2006 School for Scoundrels----Roger
2006 Mama's Boy----Oman
2007 Blades of Glory----Jimmy MacElroy
2007 Surf's Up -----Dick Malroy (Elephant Seals)
2007 Moving McAllister----Orlie