A Single Dynamite Performance
Who would’ve guessed that studying 3-D computer animation would someday lead to success and fame in Hollywood? It certainly was the case with Jon Heder.
On the day of October 26, 1977 in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, Jonathan Joseph Heder was born together with his twin brother Daniel. His parents’ names are Jim and Helen. Nothing much could be said about Jon’s normal childhood. His father is an MD whose practice was, and still is, at West Salem, Oregon. He has many siblings, three other brothers and one older sister to be exact. And he liked dressing up in 70’s clothes out of his admiration for his favorite band, Led Zeppelin.
The only things that could be said about Jon that were out of the ordinary were: one, due to being raised with Mormon values, Jon and his family spent two years living in Japan while on a traditional proselytizing mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Jon is now fluent in Japanese), and second, he is the nephew of former Philadelphia Eagles punt returner and now NBC/WCAU-TV Philadelphia Sportscaster, Vai Sikahema.
After Jon graduated at SouthSalemHigh School, Salem, Oregon, he attended BYU (BrighamYoungUniversity) at Provo, Utah. While studying to be a 3-D computer animator in college, he met his future wife Kirsten.
One could picture the life that Jon could very well have led. More than likely, he would have been quite content being married to Kirsten while doing computer animation for movies and such. In any case, it probably was far from dreams of becoming a part of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.
However, sometimes, our professions tend to choose us rather than the other way around. Jon graduated with a degree in fine arts in 1999. In 2003, director Jared Hess was looking for the perfect actor to play the lead in his short film, Peluca” Hess ran into many disappointments trying to find the right person to play the main charcter, Seth, an uber-nerd who had an obsession with martial arts books, mythical creatures, and fanny packs. While at the end of his rope, Hess remembered a friend he knew back in college who did a hilarious skit in front of class one day. The friend was none other than Jon Heder.
The two got together and shot the nine-minute short film, Peluca, in black and white. To their surprise, the short film developed a cult-like following after being shown at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2003.
Wanting to capitalize on his film’s success, Hess decided to extend Peluca into a full-feature length film. The title was changed to Napoleon Dynamite, and after its release, Jon became an overnight success. At present, Jon has won and was nominated for many awards, from Nickelodeon’s Teen Choice Awards to MTV Movie Awards, mainly for his work in Napoleon Dynamite, and his more current film, Blades of Glory. He has also established himself as a recognizable icon in Hollywood today, thanks to his beloved nerdy, but strong headed character Napoleon Dynamite.
