Jon Heder
Jon Heder | |
|---|---|
 Heder in July 2011 | |
| Born | Jonathan Joseph Heder October 26, 1977 Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, producer |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse |
Kirsten Bales (m. 2002) |
| Children | 4 |
Jonathan Joseph Heder (/ˈhiːdər/; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film Napoleon Dynamite. He has also appeared in the films Just Like Heaven, The Benchwarmers, School for Scoundrels, Blades of Glory, Mama's Boy, When in Rome, and as Roy Disney in Walt Before Mickey, and provided voice work for the animated films Monster House, Surf's Up, and Pinocchio, as well as the Napoleon Dynamite animated series.
Early life
Jonathan Joseph Heder was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, on October 26, 1977,[1] the son of Helen (née Brammer) and physician James Heder. He has an identical twin brother named Dan,[2] as well as an older sister named Rachel, an older brother named Doug, and two younger brothers named Adam and Matt. He is of Swedish descent,[3] and is a nephew by marriage of former NFL player Vai Sikahema.[4][dead link] When he was about two years old, he and his parents moved to Salem, Oregon.[5] He attended Walker Middle School in Salem and graduated from South Salem High School in 1996,[5] where he was a member of the swim team and drama club. He was also an Eagle Scout,[6][7] and would later serve as a Scoutmaster for the organization in 2010.[7]
A 2002 alumnus of Brigham Young University, Heder worked on the short animated film Pet Shop, which earned a non-traditional animation student Emmy in 2005.[citation needed] After his acting career took off, 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 and starred in Hess' short film Peluca, which was later expanded into Napoleon Dynamite. The short film received rave reviews on the BYU campus after screenings at a few colleges and local film festivals and competitions.[citation needed]
Career
Napoleon Dynamite, filmed in Preston, Idaho, earned $44.5 million at the box office.[8] In June 2005, Heder received the MTV Movie Award 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. After his success with Napoleon Dynamite, Heder and his film co-star Efren Ramirez filmed a series of commercials to promote the 2015 Utah State Fair. They reprised their roles in a self-parody sketch called "Napoleon Bonamite" on the animated series Robot Chicken. [citation needed]
In 2005, Heder had a supporting role as a clerk in a new age bookstore in the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven. In 2006, he appeared in the comedy film The Sasquatch Gang, and had a starring role with Rob Schneider and David Spade in producer Adam Sandler's The Benchwarmers (2006), another comedy, about three men making up for lost chances by creating their own Little League baseball team. Also in 2006, he was the voice of the character Skull in the animated film Monster House, and starred in the comedy School for Scoundrels, opposite Billy Bob Thornton and Jacinda Barrett. With the exception of the Academy Award-nominee Monster House, Heder's post-Dynamite movies were widely panned[citation needed] and he risked becoming a one-hit wonder until he co-starred in 2007 with Will Ferrell in the well-received Blades of Glory (2007). Like many of Heder's films, Blades of Glory is an absurd, slapstick caricature, in this case revolving around rival male figure skaters who must team up in a pairs competition.
Heder's second turn at voice acting came in 2007 when he voiced the character of Chicken Joe, a surfing chicken, in the animated film Surf's Up. His first foray into web television was in the 2008 web series Woke Up Dead starring and produced by himself.[9] Woke Up Dead is a web-based, live-action sci-fi comedy thriller about Drex, a twenty-something USC student who wakes up underwater in the bathtub one morning and suspects that he might be dead.[citation needed]
Heder and his twin brother, Dan, star together as villains in the fourth installment of the popular internet martial arts comedy series Sockbaby. Heder's performance in When in Rome was praised by New York Times critic A. O. Scott: "Jon Heder as a goofy street magician is the funniest of the bunch."[10] In 2012, Heder returned to the role that made him famous by supplying the voice of Napoleon Dynamite in the Fox Network animated series, Napoleon Dynamite, 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 song "Old 45s".[11]
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 they were both studying at Brigham Young University. They are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and live with their four children in the Saugus neighborhood of Santa Clarita, California.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Wrong Brother | Audience Member | Short |
| Funky Town | Officer Hardy | Short | |
| 2003 | Peluca | Seth | Short |
| 2004 | Napoleon Dynamite | Napoleon Dynamite | MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Sequence Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Dance Scene Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Hissy Fit Nominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Comedy Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Male Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Blush Scene Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Liar Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Love Scene Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Rumble |
| 2005 | Just Like Heaven | Darryl | Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Actor: Comedy |
| Tankman Begins | Batman | Short | |
| 2006 | The Benchwarmers | Clark Reedy | Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Comedy Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Rumble |
| Monster House | Reginald "Skull" Skulinski | Voice | |
| School for Scoundrels | Roger | Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Comedy | |
| 2007 | The Sasquatch Gang | Lazer Tag Employee | Cameo |
| Blades of Glory | Jimmy MacElroy | Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Fight Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Comedy Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Dance Scene | |
| Surf's Up | Chicken Joe | Voice | |
| Moving McAllister | Orlie | ||
| Mama's Boy | Jeffrey McMannus | ||
| 2008 | Sockbaby 4 | Manatu | Short |
| 2010 | When in Rome | Lance | |
| 2011 | Life Happens | Wrong Number Caller | Cameo |
| Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit | Fu | Voice | |
| 2012 | For Ellen | Fred Butler | |
| Drained | Short Producer DC Independent Film Festival for Best Experimental/Animation | ||
| Peter at the End | Peter | Short | |
| Pinocchio | Leo the Cat | Voice | |
| 2013 | Pororo, The Racing Adventure | Mango | Voice |
| Bud Selig Must Die | Tim | Short | |
| Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede | Oliver Vale | ||
| 2014 | Reality | Denis | |
| My Dad Is Scrooge | Raffi | Voice | |
| 2015 | A Mouse Tale | Sir Jonas | |
| Weepah Way for Now | Ernie | ||
| Walt Before Mickey | Roy Disney | ||
| Huevos: Little Rooster's Egg-cellent Adventure | Mickey Mallard | English voice | |
| Christmas Eve | James | Also known as Stuck | |
| 2016 | Bling | Wilmer | Voice |
| Ghost Team | Louis | ||
| The Tiger Hunter | Alex Womack | ||
| 2017 | Surf's Up 2: WaveMania | Chicken Joe | Voice |
| 2018 | The Ladybug | ||
| Unexpected Race | Henry | ||
| 2020 | Tremors: Shrieker Island | Jimmy | |
| 2020 | The Little Penguin Pororo's Dinosaur Island Adventure | Cursor | Voice[13] |
| TBA | Killing Winston Jones | Edwin Jones | Completed |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Mad TV | Nerd | Season 10, Episode 4 |
| 2005 | Robot Chicken | Astronaut Bully's Friend Napoleon Bonamite |
Voice Episode: "The Black Cherry" |
| Saturday Night Live | Himself | Host Episode: "Jon Heder/Ashlee Simpson" | |
| 2008 | My Name Is Earl | Joel Malone | Episode: "Girl Earl" |
| 2010 | WWE Raw | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Talking Dead | Himself | Guest |
| 2012 | Napoleon Dynamite | Napoleon Dynamite | Voice Main role |
| 2012 | Gulliver Quinn | Gulliver Quinn | TV movie |
| The Aquabats! Super Show! | Eagle Claw | Episode: "Eagle Claw" | |
| 2014 | How I Met Your Mother | Narshall | Episode: "Vesuvius" |
| Uncle Grandpa | Kev | Voice Episode: "Viewer Special" | |
| Kroll Show | Himself | Episode: "Blisteritos Presents Dad Academy Graduation Congraduritos Red Carpet Viewing Party" | |
| The Legend of Korra | Ryu/Ryu's Dad | Voice Episode: "Rebirth" Episode: "Beyond the Wilds" | |
| Clarence | Randy | Voice Episode: "Rise 'n' Shine" | |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Napoleon Bonafrog | Voice Episode: "The Croaking" | |
| Ben 10: Omniverse | Clyde Five | Voice Episode: "Clyde 5" | |
| 2015–2019 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Oskar Greason | Voice Recurring character |
| 2015–2018 | Pickle and Peanut | Pickle | Voice Main role[14] |
| 2016 | Motive | Murray Schultz | Episode: "The Vanishing Policeman" |
| Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh | Mopo Store Manager | Voice Episode: "Sitting on Babies/Best Frenemies" | |
| 2017 | VeggieTales in the City | Avacajoe | Voice Episode: "Jimmy Makes a Comic Book" |
| All Hail King Julien | Tentacle | Voice Episode: "Raiders of the Lord Shark" | |
| 2017–2018 | Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters | Multi-Farious / Don Robertson / Dr. Don Robertson | Voice 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Swedish Dicks | Mark | Episode: "Two Dicks Walk into a Bar" |
Web
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Woke Up Dead | Drex Greene |
| 2010 | Fact Checkers Unit | Jon |
| 2011 | Dead Grandma | Host |
| 2014 | TableTop | Himself |
| 2017 | Critical Role | Himself / Lionel Gayheart |
| 2019 | Retro Replay | Himself |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two | Seth | Voice |
| 2014 | Armikrog | Vognaut | Voice |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "On Top of the World" | Imagine Dragons | Russian Cosmonaut |
References
- ^ Jon Heder profile, FilmReference.com; accessed February 7, 2015.
- ^ "Jon Heder biography and filmography". Tribute.ca. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ^ B. Alan Orange (2007-06-04). "Shia LaBeouf and Jon Heder Compete for Waves in 'Surf's Up'". Movieweb.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- ^ "Dan Gross: Vai not big fan of actor/kin" article from Philly.com
- ^ a b Owen, Rob (January 12, 2012). "Heder returns as 'Dynamite' gets animated". The Oregonian. p. E1. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
- ^ https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2018/02/08/famous-former-scouts/
- ^ a b "Boy Scouts Prepared To Celebrate A Century". National Public Radio. February 6, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ "Napoleon Dynamite". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ Jon Heder To Star in Electric Farm’s ‘Woke Up Dead’
- ^ Chris Hicks. Deseret News, February 5, 2010, p. W1
- ^ "Chromeo - Old 45's". Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ^ Murphy, Desiree (July 6, 2016). "Jon Heder and Wife Expecting Baby No. 4 -- See Their Cute Announcement!". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^ Jacquin, Jeri (December 6, 2020). "The Little Penguin Pororo's Dinosaur Island Adventure on DVD". Patch. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "Greg/Gramma Jail". Pickle and Peanut. Season 1. Episode 1. September 7, 2015. Disney XD.
External links
- Jon Heder on Twitter
- Jon Heder at IMDb
- One of Jon Heders first projects
- Snopes article debunking the myth of his death
- Video and transcript of an interview with Heder
- Jon Heder on The Hour
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1977 births
- Male actors from Colorado
- 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
- Male actors from Salem, Oregon
- Twin people from the United States
- 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