Jon Heder - Blades of Glory

Best known for playing the title role in 2004s smash indie hit Napoleon Dynamite, Jon Heder (born Jonathan Joseph Heder) is a comedic actor with a unique facial and vocal qualities. Napoleon Dynamite is one of the biggest success stories to come out of the Sundance Film Festival, grossing over $46 million domestically on a budget of just $400,000. The film's success came as a surprise to many -- its a low budget quirky comedy set in Middle America and featuring several unattractive anti-heroes. Regardless of your opinion of the film, you have to acknowledge its power -- it earned over 100 times its operating budget, a feat not matched by many films.

Jon Heder was born in Fort Collins, Colorado to a doctor and stay at home mom, James and Helen Heder. He is one of six children and is the youngest of a pair of identical twins. His identical twin brother Dan is a member of Heder's production company, and is often seen in public with Jon, including in an episode of Ashton Kutcher's prank show Punk'd in which Dan convinces Jon to go to an exclusive restaurant that turns out to be a high class brothel. Jon and Dan, known as highly ethical members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, are confronted by the LAPD Vice Squad, and Jon looks genuinely concerned as he is being read his rights. Dan also appeared with Jon on the Tonight Show with David Letterman.

Heder graduated from Brigham Young University in 2002 with an emphasis in filmmaking, having produced a popular CGI short film called "Pet Shop" which earned him a Student Emmy award. It was at BYU that Heder befriended Jared Hess, whose film Peluca Heder starred in -- Peluca would eventually be fleshed out into the full length Napoleon Dynamite, and the short film has its own set of fans. Jon Heder is married to Kirsten Heder, and the two live in Los Angeles, California, most likely to keep Jon close to Hollywood. They have a daughter, Evan Jane Heder, and two cats. This simple domestic life fits right in with Heder's "good guy" image, and by all accounts Heder is very happy.

As a Mormon, Heder was required to go on a "mission" -- a trip of service and evangelism -- and he chose to do his mission in Japan. Toward this purpose, Heder became rather fluent in Japanese, a skill he later showed off for a comic bit in the film Blades of Glory.

Heder took on many roles after his success in Dynamite, although none have wone him much favor. In 2005, he had a small part in Just Like Heaven, a romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. The film was something of a disaster, although some American critics appreciated what they thought was clever dialogue. Film buffs point out logical errors in the plot and suggest that if you want to see a Reese Witherspoon film, check out her performance in Walk the Line, which premiered around the same time as this poor excuse for a romantic comedy. The film was even named "Worst foreign film of the year" by the equivalent of the Razzies in France.

Heder followed up this film with a starring role in Adam Sandler's comedy The Benchwarmers, generally described as "sophomoric", and depends on gross-out comedy more than solid dialogue or interesting plot devices. Heder stars opposite David Spade and Rob Schneider in a film about three older guys forming a baseball team to make up for time spent on the bench during their Little League years. Though the movie was critically panned, it fared pretty well at the box office, earning over $58 million domestically. The only bright spot of the film is the appearance of one time Yankees star Reggie Jackson, who attempts to train the trio to be better ball players.

Jon Heder did voice work for the 2006 Oscar-nominated animated film Monster House -- his voice is used for a video game obsessed character who guides the heros of the film on their quest to rid their house of ghosts. Several big names contributed their voice talent to this film, including Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Lee, and Kathleen Turner. The film was a success, loved by critics and audiences alike, and earned well over $75 million at the domestic box office, making it a bigger success financially than even Napoleon Dynamite.

After appearing in the 2006 yawn fest School for Scoundrels (a remake of the 60s film of the same name), Heder landed a role opposite Will Ferrell in the major hit Blades of Glory. Heder plays Jimmy MacElroy, rival skater to Ferrel's Chazz Michael Michaels. After a fight that gets them both kicked out of professional competition, the two are forced to team up in order to continue to compete. Though the film ran the risk of being a one joke pony, critics were generally impressed by the comedy styles of Heder and Ferrell (as well as co stars Will Arnett and Amy Poehler), and the fans certainly agree, flocking to see the film. The worldwide gross was over $150 million.

Heder's next film, When in Rome, is set to be released in late summer of 2009. It stars Kristen Bell (as well as Heder's old co star Will Arnett) and is a romantic comedy with a mystic twist -- a young woman retrieves coins from a "fountain of love" and is chased back to her hometown by the suitors whose coins she took possession of. It is rare to find a unique plot in a romantic comedy, and one can only hope that the film will live up to its promise.

Heder has appeared on many popular talk shows, including The View, Dinner for Five, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Jim Rome is Burning. His popularity has died off a bit since 2006, as he hasn't had a stand out role to compare with 2004s Napoleon Dynamite, and his good guy image keeps him out of trouble and his name out of the news. As a young guy, Jon Heder probably has a long career ahead of him -- hopefuly he will one day make a film as hilarious and popular as his first, Napoleon Dynamite.

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