This page uses content from the Jon Heder biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

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.

Biography

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."Dan Gross | Vai not big fan of actor/kin" article from Philly.com

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.

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.

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."Napoleon Dynamite's Heder, Wife Expecting" from People.com

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.Blog post which started the "death in a carwreck" rumor

Heder's School for Scoundrels co-star, Billy Bob Thornton, has described Heder as a "Nice young Mormon man from Oregon", while his other School for Scoundrels castmate, Jacinda Barrett, noted that Heder does not swear or work on Sundays.

Filmography

Footnotes

External links

• A biography of Heder
• One of Jon Heder's first projects
• Snopes article debunking the myth of his death
• Video and transcript of an interview with Heder

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