Who Plays Napoleon Dynamite & What Has He Starred In Lately?
In 2004, director Jared Hess gave moviegoers one of the strangest coming-of-age comedies of all time: "Napoleon Dynamite." The film takes viewers to the desolate and somewhat surreal town of Preston, Idaho — the place where the movie was actually filmed — which numerous oddball characters call home. Alongside the likes of Pedro Sánchez (Efren Ramirez) and Kipland "Kip" Dynamite (Aaron Ruell) is the person the movie is named after, the socially awkward, dance-loving Napoleon Dynamite. The role is played to perfection by actor Jon Heder, who has kept quite busy in the years since "Napoleon Dynamite" premiered in theaters.
Following his turn as Napoleon, Heder has taken on several big and small screen roles, amounting to quite a lengthy filmography. As far as recent efforts go, on the feature-length front, he has lent his voice-acting talents to the English version of "Pinocchio: A True Story" and "My Sweet Monster." When it comes to live-action films, Heder has popped up in "The Unexpected Race," "Tremors: Shreiker Island," and "Funny Thing About Love." Meanwhile, on television, he has taken on voice roles for "Pickle and Peanut," "Star vs. the Forces of Evil," and "Space Junk," to name a few.
Additionally, Heder has returned to the Napoleon character a few times since "Napoleon Dynamite" arrived almost two decades ago.
Heder has reprised Napoleon a few times over the years
Nearly a decade after "Napoleon Dynamite" came and went from theaters and Jon Heder enjoyed a range of other acting roles, he returned to the Napoleon character in 2012. Fox released an animated "Napoleon Dynamite" series that year, bringing with it more quirky humor and the bulk of the original film's cast to voice the cartoon versions of their respective characters. Sadly, though, the series wasn't destined to rival such adult animated comedies as "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," coming to an unceremonious end after a mere six episodes.
Aside from the short-lived animated "Napoleon Dynamite" series, Heder portrayed his most recognizable character on a couple of other occasions. The same year the show kicked off on Fox, Heder played Napoleon on an episode of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," giving the live audience as well as the titular host a good laugh. He also put a new spin on the character for the stop-motion sketch series "Robot Chicken," voicing Napoleon Bonamite — a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Jon Heder has taken on numerous acting gigs since 2004, with some proving quite popular with moviegoers and TV viewers. However, it's hard to argue that Napoleon Dynamite isn't far and away the one he's most synonymous with.