Jon Heder

With his first-ever feature role—the gaping über-nerd lead character in “Napoleon Dynamite” (2004)—actor Jon Heder went from budding animation student dabbling in acting to a cult hero forever canonized on celluloid and DVD. The role did more than propel the young actor into celebrity: it galvanized generations of nerds, geeks and dweebs who have been shoved into lockers, played lonely games of tetherball or had a pocket full of Tater-Tots smashed by the class bully. But the rabid fandom that arose from “Napoleon Dynamite” got weird when accounts of Heder’s death—either by car accident or drug overdose, depending on the source—began circulating the Internet, complete with fictitious quotes from his mom. Though most actors would cringe at such notoriety, Heder—as with most things in his life—took it all in stride.

Born in Colorado Springs and reared in Salem, Oregon since he was 2, Heder was raised in Mormon home that fostered an innocent and wholesome outlook on life. He went to Brigham Young University where he met director Jared Hess and producer Jeremy Coon. Though he started off in the film program, Heder switched to computer animation, later earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in the major. Meanwhile, Hess began casting his short film, “Peluca” (2003), a nine minute comedy about a geeky outcast named Seth obsessed with ninja books, unicorns and fanny packs. Frustrated with the talent passing through the casting office, Hess remembered seeing Heder perform in class and thought he was funny—and perfect for the part. Shot in two days and based on Hess’ experiences growing up in Preston, Idaho, “Peluca” was lauded at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival despite it’s grainy black and white images.

The audience response at Slamdance was so overwhelming that Hess decided to write a feature-length version. The director, however, renamed the character Napoleon Dynamite, but managed to keep Heder in the role. With $400,000 in the production coffers thanks to “Peluca,” Hess returned to Preston to film a comedy that follows Heder as a social reject with a red afro and 80’s moon boots who draws ligers in a notebook, bungles a jump on a sweet bike, gets hit in the face by a raw steak thrown by his Uncle Rico, feeds ham to the family’s pet llama, tests a time machine bought over the Internet, drinks raw eggs while on break from work at the chicken farm, dances freestyle to Jamiroquai and helps new pal Pedro run for class president—all in the search for true friendship. “Napoleon Dynamite” roused audiences at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and was bought for a reported $3-5 million by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It went on to earn over $44 million at the box office, and gained certain employment in Hollywood for Hess and Heder.

After the success of “Napoleon Dynamite” at Sundance and the subsequent coup at the box office, Heder moved to Los Angeles and began fielding offers for other films, though with caveats about the types characters he would play—no drinking, drugs, sex or cuss words allowed. Unconcerned about being typecast—or if he would even succeed (he maintained plans for becoming a computer animator)—Heder immediately signed on to supporting roles in a few features while hot off of his "Napoleon" success: “Just Like Heaven” (2005), a supernatural comedy starring Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon in which he plays the owner of a New Age book shop who has "the Gift" (positive test audience response to Heder's brief appearance in the film prompted the creation of more scenes featuring him) ; “Monster House” (2005), an animated tale about three kids who think their neighbor’s house is a monster; and “The Benchwarmers” (2005), a baseball comedy bound for box office glory thanks to David Spade and Rob Schneider in the leads.Heder was next in “School for Scoundrels” (2006), director Todd Phillips lame and rather predictable comedy that starred the actor as a meter maid suffering from anxiety and low self-esteem who checks into a top secret confidence-building class run by the suave, but underhanded Mr. P (Billy Bob Thornton), an overly-competitive lifestyle coach prone to tough love and prying into his student’s lives, forcing them to overcome their fears by exacting revenge. After filming “Blades of Glory” (2007), a goofball comedy about two rival ice skaters (Heder and Will Ferrell) who exploit a loophole and compete in pairs figure skating, Heder shot “Mama’s Boy” (2007), playing a 30-something slacker whose life of living at home with his angelic mom (Diane Keaton) is threatened when she falls in love with a self-help guru (Jeff Daniels). He then signed onto his first animated feature, supplying his voice talents to “Surf’s Up!” (2007), a mockumentary on how penguins may have been the actual inventors of surfing.