For many people, Napoleon Dynamite will always be considered the quirky little film that wound up becoming a cult classic and taking pop culture by storm. Some people love it, some people loathe it, but in the end, everyone has seenNapoleon Dynamite at least one time at some point in their lives. A lot of time has passed since the film first took over, and there are still people that enjoy watching the film to this day.
Jon Hederwent from a virtually unknown actor to someone that the world was familiar with thanks to his iconic portrayal of the title character. Even though the film did wind up being a success at the box office, Heder himself barely made enough money to cover some basic bills.
So, how much money did Jon Heder make to play in Napoleon Dynamite? Let’s take a look and see how it all played out.
Heder Only Made $1,000 For The Film
Now that we’re diving in, let’s take a look and see exactly how this project came together and the reason why Heder was only able to pull down $1000 for filming the movie that went on to be a global success.
One of the many reasons that people fell in love with Napoleon Dynamite was because the film had a low-budget charm to it. This, of course, was due to the fact that the film only had a $400,000 budget to work with, which is basically nothing in the movie industry. As such, the film wasn’t able to afford massive stars.
When speaking with SAG Indie, Jon Heder would open up about the process of making the film and how he wound up landingthe role of Napoleon.
Hederwould say, “I met Jared Hess, the writer/director of Napoleon Dynamite in college at BYU. We had taken a few classes and done a few projects together and he said, 'Hey wanna do this film?' I had acted in a few short projects and he thought I could play a dorky guy.”
It’s pretty cool to see that someone he went to college with had such huge aspirations, despite having such a little budget. Jon, himself, was not a big name at all, but he still managed to put on a great performance thathelped take things to another level.
As we have seen multiple times in the entertainment industry, indie flicks likeClerks withlittle budgetscan go on to do big business, and this is precisely what would happen with Napoleon Dynamite when it officially launched to the public.
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It Becomes A Box Office Hit
Even though the film Napoleon Dynamite has roots in a short film and had relatively no budget, it was still able to conquer the box office when it finally hit theaters back in the 2000s.
During the summer of 2004, Napoleon Dynamite would end up generating over $46 million in box office revenue worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Thisis nothing short of impressive, considering how cheaply it was made. This, naturally, made news and it inspired younger filmmakers to chase their dreams.
Those of us that are old enough to remember living through this area are no doubt aware of the fact that you simply could not get away from this movie and its catchphrases during the time. It seems like everywhere you went, someone was wearing a “Vote for Pedro” shirt or someone was outright quoting the movie in a conversation.
The positive word-of-mouth from fans really opened things up for Napoleon Dynamite, and once it caught on, it stayed around for quite a while. Even now, there are still people that will find a way to bring the movie into their social media posts.
Jon Heder did not make much for Napoleon Dynamite,but whatthe film did do for him was open up a ton of doors to a lucrative acting career.
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It Launched Heder’s Acting Career
Getting away from a popular character like Napoleon Dynamite is sometimes an impossibility for performers, but Jon Heder was able to land a few other roles that helped distinguish him from his character.
Jon’s time spent in films like School for Scoundrels and The Benchwarmers were pretty on par for his comedic performances, and while some people still associated him with Napoleon Dynamite, it did show that he was trying to break away from the film.
Once he was paired up with Will Ferrellin the film Blades of Glory, however, things were able to turn around a little bit for the actor. Blades of Glory did wind up being a success at the box office, meaning that Hedercould finally lay claim to taking part in another successful project aside from Napoleon Dynamite.
Related:10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Cast Of Napoleon Dynamite
Over the years, wehave gotten to see Hedertake part in a number of different films and television shows, and while he has yet to capture the same type of success that he had with Napoleon Dynamite and Blades of Glory, he continues to work to this very day.
Next:Jon Heder First Got Paid $1000 For Napoleon Dynamite, Now He’s An Iconic Actor
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