The bizarre, hilarious, and box office-destroying Napoleon Dynamite turned its cast of unknowns
into comedy icons overnight.
Here's what the quirky guys and gals in the "Vote for Pedro" shirts look like today.
Jon Heder (Napoleon)
Of the eclectic members of Napoleon Dynamite's cast, Jon Heder definitely got the biggest
bounce from its unexpected success.
"You know, there's like a buttload of gangs at this school.
This one gang kept wanting me to join because I'm pretty good with a bo staff."
In the blink of an eye he went from earning $1,000 for his work on the shoot to finding
himself a comedy brand, even taking home the 2005 MTV Movie Award for breakthrough male
performance and for best musical performance.
"Do the chickens have large talons?"
"Do they have what?"
"Large talons!"
"I don't understand a word you just said."
While his career may not have reached the heights some predicted, he's worked steadily
over the years, in big-budget comedies like The Benchwarmers and Blades of Glory, and
in a slew of voice work for animated movies, shows, and video games, like Disney's Epic
Mickey 2.
Even if he didn't pan out as the next Will Ferrell, he's found a way to keep those tots
flowing.
Efren Ramirez (Pedro)
Speaking of "Vote for Pedro," actor Efren Ramirez is going to have people screaming
that at him for the rest of his life.
That's what happens when you're the living embodiment of the most popular comedy catchphrase
of the 2000s.
Still, despite this career conundrum, Ramirez has refused to be typecast as Napoleon's best
bud.
In fact, he's worked steadily over the years, popping up as everything from Kenny Powers'
neighbor Catuey on Eastbound and Down, to ranch hand Esteban in the Spanish-language
comedy Casa de mi Padre.
He's been in not one, but two Crank movies, and even reprised the role of Pedro for Fox's
short-lived animated adaptation of Napoleon Dynamite.
When he's not acting, Ramirez keeps busy as an in-demand DJ.
Haylie Duff (Summer)
Thanks to her sister Hillary's early success, Haylie Duff was already in-demand by the time
she landed the part of Preston Senior High School's resident mean girl, Summer Wheatley,
with the cast of Napoleon Dynamite.
Since her failed campaign for class president, Duff has kept busy, starring in a never-ending
string of TV movies like Backwoods, Love Takes Wing, and My Nanny's Secret.
She also hosted the reality show Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods,
along with her own show for the Cooking Channel, Real Girl's Kitchen, based on her blog of
the same name.
These days, it seems she's taking a break from the small screen, as she's been busy
running her own children's fashion line, Little Moon Society.
Tina Majorino (Deb)
If not for Napoleon Dynamite, Tina Majorino may never have acted again.
After years working as a successful child actor, Majorino was in the middle of a five-year
sabbatical when Jared and Jerusha Hess' script came her way.
As she told Bello Magazine in 2014, the second she read it, she knew she needed the part
of Deb.
"Now, just imagine you're weightless, in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by tiny little
seahorses."
And the rest is history.
Majorino has since gone on to enjoy an accomplished career, playing lovable techie extraordinaire
Mac on Veronica Mars, Special Agent Genny Shaw on Bones, and Dr. Heather Brooks on Grey's
Anatomy.
In 2017, she was tapped for a recurring role as a chemist named Florence in CBS's Scorpion.
Unfortunately, the show was cancelled a year later.
Jon Gries (Uncle Rico)
Jon Gries was one of the most accomplished actors going into Napoleon Dynamite.
Still, Uncle Rico proved to be his definitive role, beating out the Wolfman from Monster
Squad and Lazlo from Real Genius.
"How much you wanna bet I could throw a football over them mountains?"
Since his turn as the Uncle from Hell who could throw footballs over mountains, Gries
has worked nonstop, bouncing back and forth between dramas and comedies.
Yup, he's graced our screens in everything from FX's intense The Bridge to the surreal
Dream Corp LLC for Adult Swim.
He also played baddie Ben Linus' papa on ABC's Lost, and buddied up to Liam Neeson's pissed-off
daddy in all three Taken movies.
Diedrich Bader (Rex)
Diedrich Bader was coming off a nine-year run on The Drew Carey Show when he joined
the Napoleon Dynamite cast.
"OK, now watch this: I'm just going to break the wrist and walk away.
Break the wrist, walk away."
"Jeez."
"Okay, it's just that simple."
As he told Collider:
"[Napoleon Dynamite is] still to this day, one of the two top scripts I've ever read,
the other one being the script for Office Space."
Since his one-day shoot as dojo guru Rex, Bader has kept awfully busy.
He's popped up on everything from Curb Your Enthusiasm to Veep.
When he's not in front of the camera, he's providing voices for some of your favorite
animated shows, like Gravity Falls and Bojack Horseman.
To top it all off, he's now starring as Greg, the lovable husband to Katy Mixon's character
in ABC's American Housewife.
Aaron Ruell (Kip)
Aaron Ruell made his screen debut as babe magnet brother Kip in Napoleon Dynamite.
"Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day.
Besides, we both know I'm training to become a cage fighter."
It launched his career, but not in the way most would expect.
According to Rangefinder Magazine, Ruell took still photographs for the Napoleon Dynamite
PR campaign because the project had no money to hire someone else, and that got him the
attention of big-league advertising agencies.
Fast forward a bit, and today he enjoys a career as an accomplished photographer and
commercial director.
On top of that, his exhibit, Some Photos, has had gallery showings in Paris, Milan,
Buenos Aires, and New Orleans.
Sure is a big step up from getting slapped in the face.
Shondrella Avery (Lafawnduh)
Kip knew his girlfriend Lafawnduh was the best thing that'd ever happened to him.
"I'm 100 percent positive she's my soulmate."
Well, Shondrella Avery, the woman who brought Lafawnduh to life, feels the same way about
the part, telling Paper Magazine:
"This movie was the best thing that's ever happened to my career."
She was a cast member on the comedy prank show Girls Behaving Badly and was still working
at the Hilton Hotels Corporation when she got the part of Kip's online lover.
She remembers the casting director telling her, "If you can act as good as you look,
then you're going to Utah."
After the movie became a sensation, she booked parts in big-budget fare like Deja Vu and
End of Watch.
But these days, she's largely focusing on her advocacy work, most notably her position
as a board member for the California chapter of the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation.
Sandy Martin (Grandma)
Sandy Martin was already an accomplished actress and producer by the time she found her way
into the world of Napoleon Dynamite.
Playing Napoleon's llama-loving grandma, Martin's character was short on screen time but still
managed to make a lasting impression.
"We're getting a little low on steaks, so I got Lyle coming over tomorrow to take care
of it."
"Well, what's there to eat?"
"Knock it off, Napoleon!
Make yourself a dang quesadilla!"
Over the last decade and a half, Martin's career has hit a hot streak, playing Mac's
grumpy mom on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mormon Brother Selma on HBO's Big Love, and
Momma Dixon in the acclaimed Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.