Q&A Jon Heder

By Rebecca Winters Keegan

He has lost the perm and moon boots, but Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder still plays the outsider as an occult-bookstore worker in Just Like Heaven.

What's the biggest difference between filming an indie like Napoleon and a studio movie like Heaven? Uh, Reese Witherspoon. Actual movie stars.

So why do 16-year-olds in every town in America quote from a strange movie with no stars? Napoleon is about embracing the awkwardness of youth and dealing with people of the opposite sex and trying to be cool.

Did your parents get it? Kind of. My mom claims she got it. My dad didn't, but he thought it was cool to see his son in a film.

Is it a challenge to be a Mormon in Hollywood? It's simply about knowing who you are and sticking to what you believe in. Sometimes there's language issues. I'm not interested in sexual content.

You wear '70s clothes, reference '80s music. At 27, are you already a nostalgist? What we did in our childhoods makes us who we are now. I loved my childhood. They had the coolest toys back then. Star Wars, Transformers, laser-tag gun sets. Toy companies have really gone downhill.

Your improvised dance scene is among Napoleon's highlights. Where did you learn to boogie? From my heart. I love movin'. I was observant growing up, watching Michael Jackson and John Travolta. I'd close my eyes, see the moves.

Kids embrace their inner geek because of you, and you wear Gucci to the MTV Movie Awards? Explain. I'm not going chic, I swear. The geek endures. But, I mean, a snazzy cool suit looks good.