# Jon Heder

Jonathan Joseph Heder (/ˈhiːdər/; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. 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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | The Wrong Brother | Audience Member | Short |
| 2000 | 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 |
| 2005 | 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 |
| 2006 | Monster House | Reginald "Skull" Skulinski | Voice |
| 2006 | School for Scoundrels | Roger | Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Comedy |
| 2007 | The Sasquatch Gang | Lazer Tag Employee | Cameo |
| 2007 | 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 |
| 2007 | Surf's Up | Chicken Joe | Voice |
| 2007 | Moving McAllister | Orlie | |
| 2007 | Mama's Boy | Jeffrey McMannus | |
| 2008 | Sockbaby 4 | Manatu | Short |
| 2010 | When in Rome | Lance | |
| 2011 | Life Happens | Wrong Number Caller | Cameo |
| 2011 | Legend of Kung Fu Rabbit | Fu | Voice |
| 2012 | For Ellen | Fred Butler | |
| 2012 | Drained | | Short, producer DC Independent Film Festival for Best Experimental/Animation |
| 2012 | Peter at the End | Peter | Short |
| 2012 | Pinocchio | Leo the Cat | Voice; 2018 American release |
| 2013 | Pororo, The Racing Adventure | Mango | Voice |
| 2013 | Bud Selig Must Die | Tim | Short |
| 2013 | Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede | Oliver Vale | Unreleased |
| 2014 | Reality | Denis | |
| 2014 | My Dad Is Scrooge | Raffi | Voice |
| 2015 | A Mouse Tale | Sir Jonas | Voice |
| 2015 | Weepah Way for Now | Ernie | |
| 2015 | Walt Before Mickey | Roy Disney | |
| 2015 | Huevos: Little Rooster's Egg-cellent Adventure | Mickey Mallard | Voice, English dub |
| 2015 | Christmas Eve | James | Also known as Stuck |
| 2016 | Bling | Wilmer | Voice |
| 2016 | Ghost Team | Louis | |
| 2016 | The Tiger Hunter | Alex Womack | |
| 2017 | Surf's Up 2: WaveMania | Chicken Joe | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2018 | The Ladybug | |
| 2018 | When Jeff Tried to Save the World | Jeff | |
| 2018 | Unexpected Race | Henry | |
| 2020 | Tremors: Shrieker Island | Jimmy | Direct-to-video |
| 2020 | The Little Penguin Pororo's Dinosaur Island Adventure | Poby | Voice |
| 2021 | Funny Thing About Love | Charlie | |
| 2021 | The Little Penguin Pororo's Treasure Adventure | Poby | Voice |
| 2022 | Pinocchio: A True Story | Tybalt | Voice, English dub |
| 2023 | Tapawingo | Nate Skoog | |
| 2024 | Plan B | Evan Ebert | |
| 2024 | Thelma the Unicorn | Reggie | Voice |
| 2024 | Waltzing with Brando | Bernard Judge | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Mad TV | Percy | Season 10, Episode 4 |
| 2005 | Robot Chicken | Astronaut, Bully, Napoleon Bonamite | Voice, episode: "The Black Cherry" |
| 2005 | 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 | Main voice role |
| 2012 | Gulliver Quinn | Gulliver Quinn | Television film |
| 2012 | The Aquabats! Super Show! | Eagle Claw | Episode: "Eagle Claw" |
| 2014 | How I Met Your Mother | Narshall | Episode: "Vesuvius" |
| 2014 | Uncle Grandpa | Kev | Voice, episode: "Viewer Special" |
| 2014 | Kroll Show | Himself | Episode: "Blisteritos Presents Dad Academy Graduation Congraduritos Red Carpet Viewing Party" |
| 2014 | The Legend of Korra | Ryu, Ryy's Father | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Clarence | Randy | Voice, episode: "Rise 'n' Shine" |
| 2014 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Napoleon Bonafrog | Voice, episode: "The Croaking" |
| 2014 | Ben 10: Omniverse | Clyde Fife | Voice, episode: "Clyde Five" |
| 2015–2019 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Oskar Greason | Recurring voice role |
| 2015–2018 | Pickle and Peanut | Pickle | Main voice role |
| 2016 | Motive | Murray Schultz | Episode: "The Vanishing Policeman" |
| 2016 | Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh | Mopo Store Manager | Voice, episode: "Best Frenemies" |
| 2017 | VeggieTales in the City | Avacajoe | Voice, episode: "Jimmy Makes a Comic Book" |
| 2017 | All Hail King Julien | Tentacle | Voice, episode: "Raiders of the Lord Shark" |
| 2017–2018 | Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters | Don Robertson / Multi-Farious | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Swedish Dicks | Mark | Episode: "Two Dicks Walk into a Bar" |
| 2022 | Studio C | Himself | Episode: "Special Guest Jon Heder" |

### 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 |