Dan Heder

Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for his breakout lead role as the title character of the comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (2004). He also voiced the character in the Fox animated series of the same name (2012).

Heder has had starring roles in the comedy films ''The Benchwarmers'' (2006), '' School for Scoundrels'' (2006), ''Blades of Glory'' (2007), ''Mama's Boy'' (2007), '' When in Rome'' (2010), ''Reality'' (2014), and '' Ghost Team'' (2016). He also had starring roles in the drama films ''For Ellen'' (2012) and ''Walt Before Mickey'' (2015). Heder had starring voice roles in the animated film '' Surf's Up'' (2007) and its sequel, '' Surf's Up 2: WaveMania'' (2017), as well as ''Thelma the Unicorn'' (2024). He had a main voice role on the Disney XD animated series ''Pickle and Peanut'' (2015–2018).

Early life

Heder was born on October 26, 1977, in Fort Collins, Colorado, the son of Helen (née Brammer) and physician James Heder. He has an identical twin 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 in 1996, where he was a member of the swim team and drama club. He is also an Eagle Scout, and served as a Scoutmaster in 2010.

A 2002 alumnus of Brigham Young University, Heder worked on the short animated film ''Pet Shop''. While attending BYU, he befriended Jared Hess and starred in Hess' short film ''Peluca'', which was later expanded into ''Napoleon Dynamite''.

Career

The 2004 comedy feature ''Napoleon Dynamite'', filmed in Preston, Idaho, earned $44.5 million. 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. Heder and his film co-star Efren Ramirez filmed a series of commercials to promote the 2005 Utah State Fair, and reprised their roles in a self-parody sketch, "Napoleon Bonamite", on the animated series ''Robot Chicken''.

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), a comedy about three men making up for lost chances by creating their own Little League baseball team. Also in 2006, Heder 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. He co-starred in 2007 with Will Ferrell in the well-received ''Blades of Glory'' (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''. 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." Heder voiced 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".

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''. In 2022, it was announced that Heder would star in the comedy film ''Plan B'', alongside Tom Berenger and Shannon Elizabeth.

In 2024, Heder reunited with Hess in ''Thelma the Unicorn'', an animated film starring Brittany Howard.

Personal life

Heder served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan, and speaks Japanese fluently.
Heder has been married to Kirsten Bales since 2002, having met her while attending Brigham Young University. They are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have four children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Video games

Music videos

References

External links

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One of Jon Heders first projects


Snopes article debunking the myth of his death



Jon Heder on The Hour

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heder, Jon
1977 births
Actual play performers
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 video game 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
American male comedians
Comedians from Colorado
Comedians from Oregon
American identical twin actors