Derek Aaron Ruell was born in Fresno, California, is an American director and photographer. He is most recognized for his performance as Kip Dynamite in the indie movie Napoleon Dynamite. Read full biography of Aaron Ruell →
My introduction to the Madonna Inn came as a young boy when we would take summer vacations to a nearby town. My dad would take us into their gift... →
I don't want to do the nerdy, goofy guy again. That was really fitting for the 'Napoleon' world, but that's kind of where I want it... →
I feel as if I've been fairly successful with maintaining a cohesive tone between the work I make as a photographer and as a director.
If I do a certain number of ads, I have to do a personal project in between, just for my own sanity. I still consider myself a punk-rock kid.
Being an actor really, really strengthens me as a director. There's just a certain type of understanding that comes from having been there and... →
I like to mix pieces in my art direction from the '60s or the '40s and the '90s and present-day stuff. To me, that feels very real. When... →
It's just this little comedy about this group of guys, and their local hangout is a pool hall, and it's starting to get taken over by this... →
The mindset that I have on every project I take on is, 'How do I make this interesting enough for me to want to stop and look at it?' So in... →
There are a lot of hardcore 'Napoleon' fans, and they do the research and find photos of what I look like when I'm not... →
With the work that I do as a director, I've got dialogue, camera movement, and character blocking to help create a tone to the piece. In... →
Derek Aaron Ruell was born in Fresno, California, is an American director and photographer. He is most recognized for his performance as Kip Dynamite in the indie movie Napoleon Dynamite.