It's difficult to imagine anyone but Jon Heder playing the titular character in Napolean Dynamite. The movie, which instantly became a cult classic thanks to its insanely quotable dialogue and weirdly off-kilter every-man vibe, was a showcase for the then virtual unknown. It even led to him starring alongside comedy kingpin Will Ferrell in ice-skating farce Blades of Glory. To this day, though, Heder is still most well-known for playing Napolean Dynamite.
In fact, he'll probably never truly escape the role (for which he was famously paid just $1,000). In a since-removed 2012 interview with Heder, Time Out's Ashley Greene notes right off the bat that the actor looks nothing like his most famous character. Heder, who had a lot of input developing the character, based him partially on his own brothers, who were constantly complaining as kids.
However, looks may be deceiving, as the actor himself is a self-confessed outcast, telling the site that he doesn't mind being typecast as the nerd. "I love playing those outcasts and weirdos because it's who I am in real life," he revealed. As an aging Scoutmaster, however, he finds the sheen has worn off as his teenage charges don't really care that he's Napolean Dynamite anymore.
