Jon Heder shot to fame with the 2004 indie hit Napoleon Dynamite. Now just a few years
later, he pretty much disappeared from the spotlight, and these days, it seems like movie
studios want nothing to do with him. Why isn't Jon Heder welcome in Tinseltown anymore?
“What do you want to do today Napoleon?”
“Whatever I feel like I wanna do, gosh.”
One-hit wonder
This isn't to say that Jon Heder is a bad actor. He's made some enjoyable films. It's
just that no matter what he does, he's never going to shake Napoleon Dynamite. In School
for Scoundrels, he attempted to play a romantic lead. In Blades of Glory, he played an eccentric,
disgraced figure skater. Yet whenever audiences hear or see his name, they expect to see the
curly-haired, bespectacled nerd who danced his way into movie watchers' hearts.
A string of flops
Again, Heder has made some good flicks. Just Like Heaven and Monster House both found financial
success, critical praise, or some combination of the two. But if you look at his filmography,
those are the exceptions to the rule. Most of his films, like Mama's Boy or Bling, were
greeted with critical wrath or outright indifference. Even worse, most of his later films have made
very little money. Whether or not that's Heder's fault, his name's attached to those projects.
Not that nerdy
Take away the hair, the glasses, and the "Vote for Pedro" T-shirt, and Heder looks nothing
like the awkward-but-heroic nerd fans took him for in Napoleon Dynamite. In real life,
Heder resembles a classic, rugged leading man with a five o'clock shadow, square chin,
and sharp jawline. Perhaps when the geek masses saw the true Heder, they felt betrayed and
turned their backs on him.
“Frikin idiot”
Voiceover work
Even though we haven't seen that much of Jon Heder lately, it doesn't mean he's out of
the picture. In fact, he's been behind it. Beginning with 2005's Monster House, Heder
has booked a lot of voice work for video games, animated films, and cartoons.
“What the flip phone are you doing?”
“I was just helping out little pickle, he has trouble breaking down the kernel with
his tiny little beak.”
He’s also lent his voice to an animated series based on Napoleon Dynamite. To date,
he's had almost 20 voice credits, and the work seems to be ramping up. It's not surprising,
considering his distinctive voice.
“Hi Randy, delivering the papers again?”
“Yes, you don’t have to ask the same question every day.”
So it could be a matter of him not wanting to bother with Hollywood anymore. Which brings
us to his other venture…
On the web
While his prolific voiceover career keeps him busy, Heder hasn't completely retreated
from the camera. Like many creative professionals, he's gone to work for himself by taking his
talents to the internet. Since 2009, Heder's appeared in web-exclusive programs, like the
zombie comedy Woke Up Dead. With these successful online ventures and the creative freedom that
they offer, there's no reason for him to bother with Hollywood productions. He's already got
all the opportunity he needs.
Uncontroversial
Jon Heder leads a fairly innocent life. The reason movie watchers are attracted to some
celebs is that they're human trainwrecks. Or film fans clamor for a star who's overcome
a serious, debilitating problem. Either way, Hollywood loves a good controversy. After
all, there's no such thing as bad publicity. Heder's never had any problems like that.
Nothing sensational ever really occurred in his public life. In fact, he's even made sure
to stay away from potential projects because they conflicted with his Mormon faith, and
he believed they'd attract the wrong kind of attention. He might be so squeaky clean
that there's nothing for gawking ticket buyers to stick to.
What's next
Jon Heder could revive his career pretty easily, and he doesn't have to compromise his values
to do it. And seeing as how he's worked on multiple platforms, it's pretty much up to
him how he gets his productions to the people.
“Yeah, to mermaid pools filled with puppies drool and centaurs pulling candy sleigh.”
Or, if nothing like that pans out, he could always take after Kip and train to become
a cage fighter.
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