It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the release of Napoleon Dynamite — an indie, sleeper hit comedy from co-writer and director Jared Hess examining the unconventional life of a socially awkward teen from Idaho, played by Jon Heder. The almost plotless and bizarrely quirky film would challenge and, arguably, revolutionize how modern audiences perceive humor, but now iconic moments and instantly memorable quotes have earned it a reputation as one of the best high school movies of all time.
In that respect, what has the Napoleon Dynamite cast been doing for the last two decades (in addition to reprising their roles for the largely forgotten animated series spin-off )? Whatever they feel like they wanna do. Gosh! If you would like more specific details regarding their careers, however, we will happily oblige.
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) You could say that Jon Heder’s uniquely hilarious performance in the Napoleon Dynamite cast as the title character has made him an acting one-hit wonder . None of his live-action roles since — even in such major comedies like Blades of Glory with Will Ferrell and School for Scoundrels, opposite Billy Bob Thornton — while effectively funny, would not amount to quite the same notoriety.
In addition to appearances in horror comedy movies like 2016’s Ghost Team and Tremors: Shrieker Island from 2020, he has led a very impressive voice acting career, with notable examples that include 2006’s family-friendly haunted house movie , Monster House , and Jared Hess’ Thelma the Unicorn in 2024. Also in 2024, Heder reprised Napoleon for an Ore-Ida tater tots ad, and his upcoming comedy, Tapawingo , premiered at the Virginia Film Festival
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Efren Ramirez (Pedro Sánchez) Similar to Heder’s trajectory, playing Napoleon’s best friend and class president hopeful, Pedro, was both the breakthrough and, decidedly, peak moment for Efren Ramirez. While he would also eventually share the screen with Will Ferrell in 2012’s Casa de mi Padre , Ramirez’s subsequent filmography also had its eclectic choices — ranging from comedies like 2006’s Employee of the Month to action films, including three by Neveldine and Taylor (namely Gamer and the Crank movies).
His acting credits have only become more diverse in recent years, such as when he led the 2023 horror anthology movie , Satanic Hispanics — also a notable recent horror movie that flew under the radar — or played Airman Díaz in the Lightyear voice castDanny Trejo in the upcoming horror film, Seven Cemeteries .
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Tina Majorino (Deborah “Deb” Bradshaw) Tina Majorino found early success as a child actor — in films like Corrina, Corrina and underrated sci-fi epic, Waterworld — before she was cast as Napoleon’s shy friend, Deb, who also becomes romantically involved with Pedro. She later landed a recurring role (that became a main role) on Veronica Mars 2014 movie spin-off ) and other recurring stints in popular shows like Big Love , Bones , True Blood Grey’s Anatomy , to name a few.
Her cinematic exposure following Napoleon Dynamite includes 2006’s Think Tank , a music biopic from the following year called What We Do Is Secret , and the aforementioned Veronica Mars movie being her final feature-length credit, unless you count her killer role in the May 2020 edition of Into the Dark , “Delivered.” Majorino’s most recent acting credit is an episode of The Good Doctor No Pressure .
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Aaron Ruell (Kipland “Kip” Dynamite) Aaron Ruell actually co-starred with Majorino in Think Tank after making his acting debut as Napoleon’s even gawkier older brother, Kip, in Napoleon Dynamite , for which he also designed the opening title sequence. His subsequent acting credits also include a guest spot voicing “Suupa” in Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go! and the title role of the 2007 comedy, On the Road with Judas .
He was the only filmmaker to premiere two titles at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with his shorts, Everything’s Gone Green and Mary , which he wrote and directed. The only noted times he has returned to acting or filmmaking in recent memory both involve revisiting the world of Napoleon Dynamite . He reprised Kip in the aforementioned animated series spin-off from 2012 and, according to Little Black Book , he helmed Heder’s Ore-Ida ad in 2024.
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Jon Gries (Uncle Rico) Napoleon and Kip’s schming, recently dumped uncle, Rico — who stays with them while their grandmother is in the hospital — is played by Jon Gries, who already led a relatively successful, decades-long career that includes underrated ‘80s movies like Real Genius, as well as great ‘90s movies like Get Shorty . His post-Napoleon Dynamite career has been just as versatile — such as another quirky coming-of-age comedy from 2006 called The Sasquatch Gang , the 2008 action movie favorite Taken and its sequels, and his reunion with Efren Ramirez in 2015’s Endgame .
Even more amusing are his recent small screen credits — which include leading Adult Swim’s twisted sci-fi comedy Dream Corp LLC , starring in HBO’s The White Lotus I’m a Virgo . Gries has an upcoming crime thriller called Tuesday’s Flu , which is now in post-production.
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Haylie Duff (Summer Wheatley) As Pedro’s rival class president candidate, Summer, we have Haylie Duff, who has acted alongside her sibling , Hilary, in numerous projects — including the 2006 riches-to-rags story , Material Girls . Also, following Napoleon Dynamite , she would star in a number of rom-coms (including 2018’s The Wedding Pact and its 2021 sequel, The Baby Pact ), some horror movies (like 2017’s The Sandman with Saw’s Tobin Bell), and animated films like her most recent acting credit, My Sweet Monster , from 2022.
On the small screen, she landed a main role on 7th Heaven , hosted two cooking shows on the Cooking Channel, and also hosted the reality competition show, Legally Blonde : The Musical — The Search for Elle WoodsFox Business , the actor and singer currently resides in Texas with her fiancée and their two children.
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Shondrella Avery (LaFawnduh Lucas) Kip’s online girlfriend, LaFawnduh (who becomes his wife in a post-credit sequence), is played by Shondrella Avery, who was previously best known for performing improv comedy with The Groundlings and Chicago’s Second City and pulling pranks on the reality show, Girls Behaving Badly . After Napoleon Dynamite , she worked with late filmmaker Tony Scott in 2005’s Domino and Déjà Vu from the following year, appeared in 2008’s The Secret Life of Bees and 2012’s End of Watch , and reunited with Heder and Hess for the aforementioned Thelma the Unicorn .
In 2005, she reprised her recurring role from UPN’s One on One , Candy, on the short-lived spin-off, Cuts , in the main cast, which she followed, primarily, with guest spots on series like Single Drunk Female and The Neighborhood . In 2023, Deadline reported Avery signed a deal with Jeff Jenkins Productions to work on unscripted projects with the likes of singer Macy Gray and NBA star John Salley.
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Sandy Martin (Carlinda Dynamite) Napoleon and Kip’s quad-bike-riding grandmother, Carlinda, is played by Sandy Martin, who would go on to play similar characters in films like Martin McDonough’s Seven Psychopaths from 2012 and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017, and in Pixar’s Luca . You could also see her on the big screen over the years in hits like Marley & Me , the Amanda Seyfried -led biopic Lovelace , and Tim Burton’s live-action remake of the animated Disney classic, Dumbo .
You might have seen her on TV in her recurring roles on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia , Big Love , and Ray Donovan
(Image credit: Fox Searchlight) Diedrich Bader (Rex) In one scene, Kip tries to take martial arts lessons taught by Rex — played by a scene-stealing Diedrich Bader, who was previously best known as Oswald Lee Harvey on The Drew Carey Show . He would go on to find success in more TV comedies, such as American Housewife and AMC’s Lucky Hank cast
Bader also, recently, had memorable appearances in movies like Shazam! Fury of the Gods and in 2023’s The Blackening castbest Batman voice actors in recent memory by leading Batman: The Brave and the Bold and appearing on Harley Quinn , as well as narrating one of the best music movies , 2022’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story . You can see him next in Kevin Smith’s upcoming comedy The 4:30 Movie and hear him next on upcoming Batman TV show , Batman: Caped Crusader , but as Harvey Dent this time.
We do not have much more to say, but we hope that by filling you in on what the Napoleon Dynamite cast has been up to, we have made all your wildest dreams come true.
