As the star of the 2004 cult favorite “Napoleon Dynamite,” Jon Heder is used to the typical shouts of the film’s most quotable lines when he’s walking down the street.
“Yeah, if I’m out and about, and someone recognizes me,” Heder told the Track. “Or if they’re obnoxious young college-age guys, they’ll say ‘HEY NAPOLEON GIMME YOUR TOTS!’ But I also get a lot of kids and families.”
The Oregon-bred actor is a rarity in Hollywood, in that he’s a devout Mormon. In fact, the idea for the original Napoleon film started when he and the director, Jared Hess, were students at Brigham Young University in Utah.
“Everybody involved loved it,” Jon told us yesterday at a Fox press junket at the Omni Parker House. “It really was a labor of love. People did not do this for a paycheck. They did it because they loved the script.”
Now, eight years later, the entire original “Napoleon Dynamite” team has reunited for the animated series, which airs Sunday night at 8:30 on Fox.
“They knew this could be good,” Heder said of the TV network. “But the only way this will happen is if we get everybody from the original.”
As for his life outside of “Napoleon Dynamite,” Heder lives in La-La with his wife and two children, and hopes to continue his successful acting career. But he’s also looking to get behind the camera — particularly if he can put his animation degree to work.
“I want to continue to act, do more movies, TV, and I’d love to direct someday,” said Heder. “I’d love to get back into animation. I’ve done a little producing and I really enjoyed it, just being a part of the creative development process.”
