Jared Hess

Raised in Preston, Idaho, Jared Hess worked as a camera assistant during his teens on feature films in Utah and California, beginning as a camera intern in 1996 with The Clubhouse Detectives. He studied film at Brigham Young University, where he met his wife, Jerusha. While at university, Jared made the award-winning short film Peluca, which was chosen as one of 12 shorts to compete at the 2003 Slamdance Film festival.

With Jerusha, he co-wrote the script for his feature film directorial debut -- the comedy Napoleon Dynamite, which was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. The quirky film made a star of the lead actor, Jon Heder, and won much critical acclaim, including the Film Discovery Jury Award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.

Hess followed up that success by directing and co-writing the major motion picture Nacho Libre (2006) starring Jack Black. He and Jerusha (who co-wrote Nacho Libre) have one child.

Jared directed the film Gentlemen Broncos (2009), about a teenager who aspires to be a writer, but after attending a fantasy-writer’s convention, he finds that his idea has been stolen by an established novelist.

In 2012, Jared and Jerusha were among the executive producers of the animated adaptation of Napoleon Dynamite. In 2015, six years after his previous film, Jared directed Don Verdean, starring Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, and Jemaine Clement. The next year he directed the comedy heist film Masterminds (2016) starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, and Kristen Wiig.

After that, Jared turned to television. In 2016, he directed an episode of The Last Man on Earth. In 2017, he directed a second episode of The Last Man on Earth, an episode of Son of Zorn, and two episodes of Making History. In 2021, he directed three episodes of the documentary series Murder Among the Mormons.

In 2022, he and Jerusha co-directed the animated short film Ninety-Five Senses, which was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the Academy Awards.

He directed five episodes of another documentary series in 2023—Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators. The following year, he returned to directing movies with the release of Thelma the Unicorn (2024).

In 2025, Jared reunited with Jack Black for A Minecraft Movie, which also stars Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Jennifer Coolidge.

Filmography:

A Minecraft Movie (2025)
Masterminds (2016)
Don Verdean (2015)
Gentleman Broncos (2009)
Nacho Libre (2006)
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)