Aaron Ruell

---

title: "Aaron Ruell" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-film-actors", "latter-day-saints-from-california", "male-actors-from-fresno,-california", "brigham-young-university-alumni", "living-people", "people-from-clovis,-california", "21st-century-american-male-actors", "1976-births"] description: "American director and photographer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Ruell" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American director and photographer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Aaron Ruell
image	Aaron Ruell by Gage Skidmore.jpg
imagesize	220px
caption	Ruell at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011.
birth_name	Derek Aaron Ruell
birth_date
birth_place	Fresno, California, U.S.
occupation	{{flatlist
yearsactive	2001–Present
::

| name = Aaron Ruell | image = Aaron Ruell by Gage Skidmore.jpg | imagesize = 220px | caption = Ruell at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011. | birth_name = Derek Aaron Ruell | birth_date = | birth_place = Fresno, California, U.S. | occupation = {{flatlist|

• Director
• photographer
• actor | yearsactive = 2001–Present | spouse = Derek Aaron Ruell (born June 23, 1976) is an American director, photographer and actor. He is most recognized for his performance as Kip Dynamite in the indie movie Napoleon Dynamite.

Early life and education

Ruell was born in Fresno, California and raised in a Mormon family in the nearby town of Clovis. After graduation from Clovis West High School, Ruell studied film at Brigham Young University.

Career

Director

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

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. In 2007, he starred in On the Road with Judas, which premiered in the Dramatic Competition section of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Ruell played a successful New York businessman who led a double life as a computer thief.

Personal life

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

Filmography

::data[format=table]

Film	Year	Film	Role	Other notes	Television	Year	Title	Role	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
2005	Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!	Suupa	Voice Role
Episode: Brothers in Arms
2012	Napoleon Dynamite	Kipland Ronald "Kip" Dynamite	Voice Role
Regular
::

Awards and nominations

Teen Choice Awards

• 2005: Nominated, "Choice Movie Rockstar Moment" - Napoleon Dynamite

References

References

1. . (2011-06-23). "Celebrity Birthdays". *[[The Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]*.
2. Bentley, Rick. (2006-01-30). "'Dynamite' Is Explosive for Fresnan". [[The Fresno Bee]].
3. (2014-07-28). "Aaron Ruell, Moving Beyond "The Napoleon Dynamite Guy" {{!}} Rangefinder". Rangefinder.
4. (2008-10-06). "Quirky Portraits by Napoleon Dynamite Actor and Photographer". Feature Shoot.
5. "Aaron Ruell".
6. "{{!}} SHOOTonline". SHOOTonline.
7. "Kip Dynamite (Napoleon's brother) is a handsome hipster with a beard now".
8. "Aaron Ruell - Work - Creativity Online".
9. McCarthy, Todd. (2007-02-01). "On the Road With Judas". Variety.
10. Lask, J. J.. (2007-01-21). "On the Road with Judas".
11. "Aaron Ruell, Latebirds — Moped Army".
12. "Yuka Ruell, Latebirds — Moped Army".
13. Holstein, Amara. "Wood Paneling Loses its Dated Reputation with This Renovation of a 1959 Portland Gem". Dwell.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::