Where Is Pedro From Napoleon Dynamite Now?

Back in 2004, Napoleon Dynamite exploded onto popular culture like a deadpan, tetherball-playing, badly-permed grenade. Though Jon Heder was front and center in the title role, there was perhaps nothing more emblematic of the movie's success than Efren Ramirez's performance as Pedro Sanchez, the most unlikely possible candidate for school president. He rocked a bolo tie, dad jeans, and an unshakably calm demeanor all the way to pop dominance — VOTE FOR PEDRO was emblazoned on every other t-shirt, could be spotted in the background of a thousand fledgling viral videos, and served as the basis for an untold number of copycat campaigns in schools across the world. 

But how well do you know the man who brought Pedro to life? It turns out that nowadays, he's living exactly the way he wants to: as an actor, author, motivational speaker, and off-road adventurer extraordinaire. Let's take a look at where his many skills have taken him.

Ramirez isn't just a devotee of digital sound, however — he's accomplished in more than a few traditional instruments as well. Though he's been known to play the violin and use his voice for everything from rock ballads to rap, he's perhaps best known as an absolute phenom on the harmonica and is eager to bust it out for an impromptu jam session. From breaking out the blues at the Sundance Film Festival to wowing students at high schools he's visited as a traveling artist, he's ready to throw down the musical gauntlet wherever he goes. 

As he started on stage early, appearing in such early '90s gems as Kazaam and Tammy and the T-Rex, it's no surprise he's so comfortable performing in a variety of mediums. His mother has had more than a bit of a hand in that, putting him in performing arts classes from a very young age — a practice he continued in order to expand his social life. And with the harmonica being such a portable instrument, he's ready to turn anywhere and everywhere into a stage worthy of his talents.

It's hard to remember nowadays how unlikely a hit Napoleon Dynamite was. An oddly deadpan protagonist with a hairstyle at least twenty years out of date? Jokes centered around Jamiroquai, obscure tiger-lion hybrids, and tater tots? It's a movie that could only have come out of the independent film scene — undeniably fresh without visible effort, perfectly bizarre without feeling calculated, and indefinably addictive. It's no surprise, then, that Ramirez has kept at least one foot in the world of indie movies at all times. 

Since his turn as Pedro — and if you weren't around for it, those Vote For Pedro shirts really were everywhere — he's starred in everything from short films like "Tomorrow's Yesterday" to searing biopics like Endgame. He's not too proud to show up in some good, old-fashioned popcorn blockbusters either, though, adding action thriller Crank and goofy comedy Employee of the Month to his filmography. He's an actor who keeps his eyes on the stars without ever forgetting where he came from.

Stars whose breakout roles come to define them are faced with a frustrating, almost Faustian bargain. They finally gain the fame, marketability, and money that a healthy acting career necessitates — especially in an increasingly plugged-in world — but they risk being typecast for the rest of their careers. Some actors, however, embrace their signature role, and even learn to laugh about it. Ramirez has very much taken the latter tack, appearing as Pedro Sanchez (or at least wearing the iconic shirt) across just about every medium and genre. 

His most notable appearance is simultaneously his most lowkey: playing himself in Kesha's "Sleazy Remix 2.0 Get Sleazier"  music video. He appears in the monochromatic piece as himself, dressed down in Pedro's signature flannel and jeans (with, it must be said, more stylishly pushed-back hair) lip-syncing to Andre 3000 in a crowded produce market. It's a subtle cameo, with no obvious callbacks or visual cues — nothing, really, beyond his face and a nod to the character's stiff fashion sense. Noticing it, as opposed to a more overt reference, feels a little more like an earned victory for the ardent Napoleon fan.

Powerhouse already has one big success under its belt, and it isn't even in movies.  On June 10, 2008, Ramirez and Barrett published Direct Your Own Life: How To Be a Star in Any Field You Choose, a self-help guide to mastering one's own goals. In it, Ramirez and Barrett detail their own odd paths to success — Ramirez as a struggling actor who caught the oddest big break possible, and Barrett's journey getting catapulted to notoriety for being the world's first "corporate-sponsored" college student. 

As they explain in the book's introduction, their long and winding paths collided at the Sundance Film Festival, where Ramirez had traveled to promote the then-unknown Napoleon Dynamite and Barrett attended as part of the 2003 documentary The Corporation. They could never have planned for the success they experienced — as Ramirez reveals inside, he turned down a small part in an unnamed but allegedly much more high-profile production to have a starring role in Napoleon — but it came nonetheless. They attempt, then, to help readers harness their own unique talents and put them towards their own passions, no matter how singular, or even downright odd, they might be. It's a book that only could have been written by two guys with utterly impossible life paths, eager to share what they call their "collection of battle stories, advice, and hands-on steps."

Beyond fame, beyond fortune, and beyond the hangers-on that'll hop off the bandwagon as soon as it shows signs of slowing down, the denizens of Hollywood have their families. Ramirez has endured some turbulence on this account — perhaps one of the best-known headlines of his career, apart from his role as Pedro Sanchez, was the altercation between him and his identical twin brother, who had been posing as the character without his permission. A lawsuit ensued, wherein Ramirez's brother paid him millions in restitution and promised to never appear in public as Pedro Sanchez again. 

But things appear to have quieted down for Ramirez since then, and his bond with his family is tighter than ever. To thank his parents for their undying support of his dreams, he bought them a house with his Napoleon paycheck. Nowadays, he loves to kick back with his brothers across the country, exploring the great outdoors by boat, bike, and car. "My next endeavor is to go to the Grand Canyon with my brothers and go white water rafting," he told Motor Trend when asked of his dreams for the future. "Eddie gets car sick so he'll probably drive his Mustang."