Jon Heder

Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for his breakout role as the awkward nerd Napoleon in the comedy film Napoleon Dynamite. He also voiced Napoleon in the Napoleon Dynamite animated series (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, an older brother and two younger brothers. 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,

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 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, where he learned Japanese. 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. Heder is also a member of the Richmond Flying Mummies ownership group.

Filmography Film

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 2014 "Old 45's" Chromeo Bar Patron 2021 "Back Pocket" Brooke White Cowboy/Band