Actor who plays Uncle Rico in ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ celebrating film’s 20th anniversary with castmates during local event
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IDAHO FALLS – Jon Gries loves Idaho, and he’s excited to return for an upcoming event on the eastern side of the state.
The 66-year-old California man is an actor best known for his role as Uncle Rico in “Napoleon Dynamite.” He’s joining two of his castmates, Jon Heder (Napoleon) and Efren Ramirez (Pedro) for a 20th anniversary celebration of the film at the Colonial Theater in downtown Idaho Falls on Nov. 18. Click here to learn more.
The 2004 indie movie is a “special film” to many people. One of the reasons for that, Gries says, is because it’s such an “inclusive, positive experience.”
“I had many actor friends when it first came out call me and say, ‘I’ve never been able to sit with my kids and watch anything. They either hate what I’m watching, or I hate what they’re watching,'” Gries tells EastIdahoNews.com. “This is the first movie we were able to come together and watch, and I think a lot of people share that experience.”
The film is beloved by locals in particular because it was filmed in Preston.
While Gries has no familial ties to eastern Idaho or the Gem State, he’s spent a lot of time here and enjoys visiting as often as he can.
“I was in a show called ‘The Pretender’ on NBC (in the ’90s). I had some downtime, and I rented a car and drove around the country. I spent a good amount of time in Idaho. I loved Idaho Falls,” Gries says.
One of his old girlfriends lives in Hope up in the panhandle, and Gries had a major role in a movie called “Twin Falls Idaho” more than two decades ago.
Gries got his start in acting as a 9-year-old kid in Los Angeles. His father, Tom Gries, was a filmmaker, and Jon remembers hanging out with his dad on a film set. Tom was filming a Western with Charlton Heston and Joan Hackett, and young Jon ended up getting cast in a small role.
Offers for parts in other films, including a role in “The Cowboys” with John Wayne, started coming his way. But he wasn’t interested at the time.
“I wanted to be just a regular kid,” he says.
When he was 18, his girlfriend (the woman who lives in Hope today) was a model and he’d visit her on the set of photo shoots and commercials. It was then that he decided to give acting another shot.
His dad gave him the chance to read for a small part in a miniseries he was directing about the Charles Manson murder case.
“If you read for this show and I hire you, I don’t want you to ever ask (me for any roles again),” he recalls his father saying to him. “If you’re going to be an actor, you’re going to do it on your own merits and not be hanging on my coattails.”
He got the role and he took his father’s advice. He’s been acting consistently ever since.
One of his current projects is a dramatized audio podcast called “The Bystanders.” It’s an ensemble cast that includes Jane Lynch, Kristen Chenoweth, Kathleen Turner and Jaclyn Hales, whom Gries has worked with before. Gries describes the series as a dark comedy play with a mystery element. He plays a character named Z.
Gries loves old-time radio and he was excited to be involved in an audio drama. Though he’s pleased with how it turned out, he says the experience wasn’t anything like he imagined.
“It’s almost as if you’re playing the game of telephone,” he says. “They had me on a Zoom call, and I just did all my lines while they had an engineer (record it). They’d talk to me and say, ‘So-and-so’s lines are kind of like this.’ Sometimes, they’d play something back for me to hear … but they just wanted to get variations of the same line.”
Though Gries has had dozens of roles before and after Napoleon, it’s his role as Uncle Rico for which he is most remembered, and Gries has no problem with that.
The Idaho Falls event will include a screening of the film followed by a lively discussion with fans.
Gries is looking forward to the interaction.
“We get into the audience. We don’t stand up on stage. We wander around with our mics. We talk to (the fans). We have prizes for people who do or say funny things,” he says.
For tickets or more information, click here.
LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH GRIES IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.