which the bride and groom ride out on. Cast Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite Efren Ramirez as Pedro Sánchez Tina Majorino as Deborah "Deb" Bradshaw Aaron Ruell as Kipland Ronald "Kip" Dynamite Jon Gries as Rico Dynamite Haylie Duff as Summer Wheatley Emily Kennard as Trisha Stevens Shondrella Avery as LaFawnduh Lucas Sandy Martin as Grandma Carlinda Dynamite Diedrich Bader as Rex Carmen Brady as Starla Trevor Snarr as Don Ellen Dubin as Aunt Ilene Production Origin In 2002, Brigham Young University film students Jon Heder and Jared Hess collaborated on a class project; the result was a 9-minute short movie shot on black-and-white 16mm film entitled Peluca about a nerdy high school student named Seth. Peluca was shown at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival and was well received. Jeremy Coon convinced Hess to drop out of school and adapt it into a feature-length film, and he helped him to find investors for the project. Hess sent the short film and the script to a variety of different casting directors, many of whom thought that the idea was "too weird or they just didn't like the character," Hess explained. One casting director suggested Jake Gyllenhaal over unknown actor Jon Heder for the lead role but Hess believed Heder was the only actor to play the part. Jason Lee was offered the role of Uncle Rico while Brad Garrett auditioned for Rex and enjoyed the script, but decided not to commit. Heder was paid $1,000 for starring in the film, but successfully negotiated to receive more after the film became a runaway success. Filming and setting Hess shot the film on location in Preston, in southeastern Idaho, located near the Utah border, in July 2003. Operating on a tight budget of $400,000, Hess cast many of his friends from school, including Heder and Aaron Ruell, and he relied on the generosity of Preston locals, who provided housing and food to crew members. Among the established actors in the cast was comedy veteran Diedrich Bader, who filmed his scenes as virile martial art instructor Rex in one day. He recalled in 2011 that Napoleon Dynamite "still to this day [is] one of the two top scripts I've ever read", alongside Office Space (1999), one of his most-recognized roles. "It was very, very hot," Hess recalled in a Rolling Stone interview. "But it was so much fun being in this rural farm town