BOUND FOR GLORY [13.06.07] JON HEDER DOESN'T MESS WITH DYNAMITE It's not an act. Jon Heder (aka Napoleon Dynamite, aka Jimmy MacElroy in the upcoming 'Blades of Glory') really is a geek. "Nintendo make the best games, their games are just more fun. There's the Mario games, 'Mario Kart' and 'Zelda', 'Metroid', they're just fun all-around games. And now with the new Wii, it's more interactive. I just think they're trying new things and they're very inventive and creative, and I like that." See? You can imagine Heder's delight, then, when a Napoleon Dynamite game was recently announced for the Nintendo DS. "I've actually seen pieces of it! I think it looks pretty cool!" And how would 'Blades of Glory', the hilarious new absurdist comedy starring Heder and Will Ferrell as the world's first competitive same-sex figure skating team, fare as a video game? "Skating would be interesting, I wonder how you'd do that? I don't even know how it'd work with a regular controller. I mean, what would the player do? Are they skating, or learning to work with the other guy? It'd be interesting to see if they made a game of that ... " It doesn't stop at video games. The dance moves that made Napoleon Dynamite a legend, and Jimmy MacElroy a master of the ice? That's ALL Heder. "I like to dance to Michael Jackson music. He's got some good dance beats, and Gloria Gaynor, and Earth, Wind & Fire ... 'Give It Up', by The Jacksons that's a great dance song. I remember while we were shooting the film and I was in skating mode, I heard that song and I was like, 'this would make a killer routine!'" But Heder's video gaming and dancing skills aren't the only subject of discussion. 'Blades of Glory' signals the perpetually youthful 28-year-old's ascent into comedy superstardom, which wasn't something he ever expected. "I've always liked to goof around, but I don't know if I was the class clown ... definitely more in my college years, I became more the goofy type, messing around, and I think that's why students started putting me in their films. But I don't know, I never thought of myself as funny." Even as his profile continues to rise, he remains refreshingly grounded. As we talk, Heder goes to answer a knock at the door, only to find his would-be visitor had the wrong room. "That's gotta be an unfortunate surprise. I have no idea if he even recognized me." Fame and ego doesn't come naturally to Heder, who was raised under (and continues to believe in) the strict tenets of the Mormon Church, which must make him a rarity among the Hollywood crowd. "I don't know if I live the Hollywood lifestyle. I live in Hollywood, I guess, but I basically live life like I would anywhere. I don't really go to parties or go out drinking, I don't go to rehab and I don't try to cop out of jail terms. You know, I was raised with these certain beliefs and they've made me who I am. I don't really sit there thinking, 'oh darn, I wish I could do that, but too bad, I'm Mormon!'" For better or worse, Heder has been stuck playing geeks in his movies so far. Does he ever want to play a 'cool' character? "I'm just not that cool of a guy, so it's typecasting. Playing against type is always a fun thing, but it would still have to be a comedy if I was playing a cool guy. I don't know if I could take it seriously." Rohan Williams For your chance to win tickets to SCENE's exclusive sneak peek screening of 'Blades of Glory' at 7:00pm, on June 20, at the Myer Centre: call into Scene HQ from 12:00 noon Thursday June 14 until 5:00pm Wednesday June 20. 'Blades of Glory' releases nationally on June 21. back to top ^

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