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Jon Heder
Jon Heder by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg
Jon Heder in 2023
Born
Jonathan Joseph Heder

(1977-10-26) October 26, 1977 (age 47)
Occupation Actor, comedian
Years active 2000–present
Spouse(s)
Kirsten Bales
(m. 2002)
Children 4

Jon Heder (born October 26, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing the main character in the comedy movie Napoleon Dynamite (2004). He also voiced Napoleon Dynamite in the animated TV show (2012).

Heder has starred in many other comedy films. These include The Benchwarmers (2006), School for Scoundrels (2006), and Blades of Glory (2007). He also lent his voice to animated movies like Surf's Up (2007) and Thelma the Unicorn (2024). He was also a main voice actor in the Disney XD cartoon series Pickle and Peanut (2015–2018).

Early Life

Jon Heder was born on October 26, 1977. His birthplace was Fort Collins, Colorado. His parents are Helen and James Heder. Jon has an identical twin brother named Dan. He also has an older sister, Rachel, and an older brother, Doug. He has two younger brothers, Adam and Matt.

When Jon was about two years old, his family moved to Salem, Oregon. He went to Walker Middle School in Salem. Later, he graduated from South Salem High School in 1996. While in high school, he was part of the swim team and the drama club. He is also an Eagle Scout. He even served as a Scoutmaster in 2010.

Jon went to Brigham Young University. He graduated in 2002. While there, he worked on a short animated film called Pet Shop. He also became friends with Jared Hess. Jon starred in Hess's short film Peluca. This short film later became the famous movie Napoleon Dynamite.

Career Highlights

Jon Heder's big break came with the 2004 comedy movie Napoleon Dynamite. The movie was filmed in Preston, Idaho. It earned a lot of money, about $44.5 million. In June 2005, Jon won two MTV Movie Awards for his role. He won for Best Musical Performance and Breakthrough Male Performance.

In 2005, Jon had a supporting role. He played a clerk in a new age bookstore. This was in the romantic comedy movie Just like Heaven. In 2006, he appeared in The Sasquatch Gang. He also starred with Rob Schneider and David Spade in The Benchwarmers. This movie was about three men who start their own Little League baseball team.

Also in 2006, Jon voiced the character Skull. This was in the animated film Monster House. He also starred in the comedy School for Scoundrels. In this movie, he acted alongside Billy Bob Thornton. In 2007, Jon co-starred with Will Ferrell in Blades of Glory. In this film, he played one of two rival figure skaters. They had to team up for a pairs competition.

Jon Heder also did more voice acting. In 2007, he voiced Chicken Joe. This was a surfing chicken in the animated movie Surf's Up. He later returned to voice Chicken Joe in the sequel, Surf's Up 2: WaveMania, in 2017.

In 2012, Jon voiced Napoleon Dynamite again. This was for the Fox Network animated TV series Napoleon Dynamite. In 2013, he appeared in a music video. It was for the song "On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons. He also appeared in the music video for the Chromeo song "Old 45s" in 2014.

In 2024, Jon Heder worked with director Jared Hess again. This was for the animated film Thelma the Unicorn. He voiced the character Reggie in this movie.

Personal Life

Jon Heder served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan. Because of this, he can speak Japanese very well.

He has been married to Kirsten Bales since 2002. They met while they were both attending Brigham Young University. Jon and Kirsten are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have four children together.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jon Heder para niños

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