Aaron Ruell

Most famous for his role as Kip Dynamite in the indie hit "Napoleon Dynamite," Mormon actor Aaron Ruell is also a talented director and cinematographer. Ruell grew up in the tiny town of Clovis, California, where he began his love affair with the camera. Ruell is also an accomplished photographer, who has had several shows of his carefully composed images that combine actors with outrageous costumes and fanciful sets. A monograph of his work is available from Nazraeli Press. After his breakthrough performance as the mustachioed older brother who finds love on the Internet in "Napoleon Dynamite," for which he was nominated for a Teen Choice Award, Ruell went on to act in the comedy "Think Tank" and the 2007 drama "On The Road With Judas," in which he played the lead. Most of his professional work in recent years has been behind the camera. Two of his short films, "Mary" and "Everything's Gone Green," opened at the Sundance Film Festival in the same year. He also directs commercials and industrial films with the Los Angeles firm Biscuit Filmworks. His most recent move has been to return to the role of Kip in the animated series of "Napoleon Dynamite," along with the rest of the original cast.