Aaron Ruell

Last updated

Derek Aaron Ruell
Aaron Ruell by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Ruell at the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2011.
Born (1976-06-23) June 23, 1976 (age 47)
Occupations
  • Director
  • photographer
  • actor
Years active2001–2012

Derek Aaron Ruell (born June 23, 1976) [1] [2] is an American director, photographer and actor. He is most recognized for his performance as Kip Dynamite in the indie movie Napoleon Dynamite .

Contents

Early life and education

Ruell was born in Fresno, California and raised in a Mormon family in nearby Clovis. [2] [3] After graduation from Clovis West High School, Ruell studied film at Brigham Young University. [2] [3]

Career

Director

Ruell is an accomplished commercial director and photographer. [4] As a director he is represented by Sanctuary in Los Angeles. [5] He was declared one of the most promising new directors in the world of advertising by Shoot magazine in 2009, [6] and "one of the emerging directors to know now" by Creativity . [7] He has directed commercials for clients such as T-Mobile, Nintendo, Coke, and Burger King. [8]

He was the only filmmaker to have two films, Everything's Gone Green and Mary, which he wrote and directed, premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

Actor

Ruell is best known for playing the role of Kipland Dynamite in the movie Napoleon Dynamite. [7] In 2007, he starred in On the Road with Judas, which premiered in the Dramatic Competition section of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. [9] Ruell played a successful New York businessman who led a double life as a computer thief. [10]

Personal life

Ruell and his wife, Julia Yuka Ruell, were at one time members of the Los Angeles Latebirds, an official Moped Army branch. [11] [12] They currently reside in Portland, Oregon after having resided in Pasadena, California. [13]

Filmography

Film
YearFilmRoleOther notes
2004 Napoleon Dynamite Kipland Ronald "Kip" Dynamite
2006 The Problem with Percival Social Worker Short film
Think Tank
2007 On the Road with Judas Judas
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2005 Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! SuupaVoice Role
Episode: Brothers in Arms
2012 Napoleon Dynamite KipVoice Role
Regular

Awards and nominations

Teen Choice Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Redford</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1936)

Charles Robert Redford Jr. is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1996, the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary César in 2019. He was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clovis, California</span> City in the United States

Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. Clovis was established in 1890 as a freight stop for the San Joaquin Valley Railroad by a group of Fresno businessmen and Michigan railroad speculator Marcus Pollasky. The railroad bought the land from two farmers and named the station after one of them, Clovis Cole. Pollasky then developed a town on the site, also named Clovis.

<i>Napoleon Dynamite</i> 2004 film by Jared Hess

Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 American independent coming of age teen comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high-school student who deals with several dilemmas: befriending an immigrant who wants to be class president, awkwardly pursuing a romance with a fellow student, and living with his quirky family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared and Jerusha Hess</span> American filmmakers

Jared Lawrence Hess and Jerusha Elizabeth Hess are husband-and-wife American filmmakers best known for their work on Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Nacho Libre (2006) and Gentlemen Broncos (2009), all of which they co-wrote and which were directed by Jared.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Heder</span> American actor

Jonathan Joseph Heder is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the title character of the 2004 comedy film Napoleon Dynamite. He has also appeared in the films Just Like Heaven, The Benchwarmers, School for Scoundrels, Blades of Glory, Mama's Boy, When in Rome, and as Roy Disney in Walt Before Mickey. He also provided voice work for the animated films Monster House, Surf's Up, and Pinocchio, as well as the Napoleon Dynamite animated series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Gries</span> American actor, writer, director

Jonathan Gries is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for the role of Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, and recurring character Roger Linus on Lost. He is also known for his roles in Martin, The Pretender, The Monster Squad, Running Scared, Real Genius, Dream Corp LLC, Get Shorty, and The White Lotus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnathon Schaech</span> American actor (born 1969)

Johnathon Schaech is an American actor and screenwriter. He has been working as an actor since the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Bayer</span> American film editor and cinematographer

Samuel David Bayer is an American visual artist, cinematographer, and commercial, music video and film director. Bayer was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from New York City's School of Visual Arts in 1987 with a degree in Fine Arts. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1991, where he continues to live and work.

<i>Napoleon Dynamite: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack</i> 2004 soundtrack album by Various

The Napoleon Dynamite original soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2004 comedy film, Napoleon Dynamite. It featured the original score, dialogue, and other artists' songs. It was released on October 5, 2004, by Lakeshore Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clovis West High School</span> Public school in Fresno, California, United States

Clovis West High School (CWHS) is a co-educational, public high school part of the Clovis Unified School District in the well-established suburban community in northeast Fresno, California. It was founded in 1976, and has grades 9–12. Clovis West High School is ranked 206th within California. The AP participation rate at Clovis West High School is 41 percent. 833 tests administered and 71% tested received a score of “3” or higher. The student body makeup is 51 percent male and 49 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 51 percent, primarily Hispanic. Clovis West High School is one of five high schools in the Clovis Unified School District. It is a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School.

J. J. Lask is a director, screenwriter, novelist, and editor. His debut novel was published in 2002 titled On The Road With Judas; it was later made into a film of the same name in 2007 and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Paul</span> American actor (born 1979)

Aaron Paul is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2014), Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film (2013), and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. This made him one of only two actors to win the latter category three times since its separation into comedy and drama. He has also won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television three times, more than any other actor in that category. He reprised the role of Jesse Pinkman in the 2019 Netflix film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and again during the final season of the spin-off series Better Call Saul in 2022.

<i>Black Dynamite</i> 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film

Black Dynamite is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co-stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Swihart</span> American composer

John Swihart is an American musical composer for film and television. He is perhaps best known for his score to Napoleon Dynamite, Youth in Revolt, Employee of the Month, and his music for the TV shows How I Met Your Mother, and Go On.

Napoleon Dynamite is an American animated sitcom created by Jared and Jerusha Hess for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is based on the 2004 indie film of the same name, which both Hesses directed and co-wrote. Mike Scully helped develop the series. Set in the small town of Preston, Idaho, it follows the adventures of the titular 16-year-old boy, who thinks he is skilled at everything.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Coogler</span> American filmmaker (born 1986)

Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.

Kip is the given name of:

Daniel Kaufman is an American director, film producer and screenwriter from New York City. Before graduating from UCLA he worked as an actor and photographer. Simon & Schuster published a collection of Kaufman's photography titled To Be A Man in 1994. Kaufman traveled across the country asking men from all walks of life what it means to be a man in today's world. Kaufman collected more than 70 visual and written portraits that were featured in the book.

<i>Judas and the Black Messiah</i> 2021 film by Shaka King

Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 American biographical crime drama film directed and produced by Shaka King, who wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, based on a story by the pair and Kenny and Keith Lucas. The film is about the betrayal of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal, an FBI informant. Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Dominique Thorne, and Martin Sheen also star.

On the Road with Judas is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by J. J. Lask and starring Aaron Ruell, Kevin Corrigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eleanor Hutchins, Amanda Loncar, Alex Burns and Leo Fitzpatrick.

References

  1. "Celebrity Birthdays". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram . June 23, 2011. p. 6E. Actor Aaron Ruell is 35.
  2. 1 2 3 Bentley, Rick (January 30, 2006). "'Dynamite' Is Explosive for Fresnan". The Fresno Bee . p. D1. The 29-year-old...was born in Fresno.
  3. 1 2 "Aaron Ruell, Moving Beyond "The Napoleon Dynamite Guy" | Rangefinder". Rangefinder. July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  4. "Quirky Portraits by Napoleon Dynamite Actor and Photographer". Feature Shoot. October 6, 2008. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  5. "Aaron Ruell". Biscuit Filmworks. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  6. "| SHOOTonline". SHOOTonline. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Kip Dynamite (Napoleon's brother) is a handsome hipster with a beard now" . Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. "Aaron Ruell - Work - Creativity Online". creativity-online.com. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  9. McCarthy, Todd (February 1, 2007). "On the Road With Judas". Variety. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  10. Lask, J. J. (January 21, 2007), On the Road with Judas, Aaron Ruell, Kevin Corrigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, retrieved July 6, 2018
  11. "Aaron Ruell, Latebirds — Moped Army". www.mopedarmy.com. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  12. "Yuka Ruell, Latebirds — Moped Army". www.mopedarmy.com. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  13. Holstein, Amara. "Wood Paneling Loses its Dated Reputation with This Renovation of a 1959 Portland Gem". Dwell. Retrieved July 6, 2018.