Tim Heidecker is an American former actor, writer, director, musician, arsonist, movie critic, and host of the On Cinema movie review show, alongside guest Gregg Turkington. He is also known for his role as special agent Jack Decker of the Decker film franchise, and his portrayal of the Marvel Comics character, Nathaniel Richards, in the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot. He recently defeated charges in court with a hung jury mistrial for the manslaughter of 18 teenagers at the Electric Sun Desert Music Festival in April 2017, and subsequently unsuccessfully ran for District Attorney of San Bernadino County.
Tim is the owner and bankroller of On Cinema, and is seen as the 'father' of the show.
Tim often displays egotistical, naive, or confrontational behavior, which is common amongst creative individuals (but perhaps exacerbated by his brain surgery). He often argues with his fellow reviewer, Gregg Turkington, is quick to belittle, demean, or verbally abuse him, and has been accused of physically abusing Mark Proksch. He is the more critical film reviewer of the two as he has been known to give lower ratings to films not to his liking, such as Ant-Man, which he gave the rare "one bag of popcorn" rating. Occasionally, he will rate a movie solely on how many "movie stars" appear in it, and will frequently request the addition of Tom Cruise into movies.
He has publicly opposed Obamacare, denounced Hillary Clinton, endorsed Donald Trump, and has chosen to take alternative medical treatments with the aid of holistic Dr. San. Tim is anti-abortion, but funds one anyway. He appears to suffer from some form of Dyslexia as he regularly has difficulty reading his info cards. He constantly changes his looks and starts many ventures, including the Decker mini series, the rock band Dekkar, as well as buying a motorcycle. He is also CEO of Heidecker Publishing, which was to publish a book of Gregg Turkington's film essays and a "coffee table book" of photos of Tim on his motorcycle (Hog Shots), but both fell through.
Personal life[]
Tim is a fan of alternative medicine, the actor Tom Cruise, and conservative values. Tim's family includes his estranged first wife, their son (born 1999), his second wife (divorced 2013), third wife Ayaka Ohwaki (married 2015), and their deceased infant son Tom Cruise Heidecker. Tim also has a nephew.
In the 1990s, Tim was married to an unnamed woman and had a son. They became estranged, but Tim would reconnect with his son in 2014.
From Season 1, Tim had a second unnamed wife. Tim developed twelve blood clots on his brain, but refused 'barbaric' surgery in favor of alternative medicine. Between seasons 2 and 3, he elected to get the surgery, but his second wife divorced him due to this choice.
In Episode 208, Tim introduces Ayaka, a Japanese foreign exchange student staying with his family. After Tim's divorce, him and Ayaka become lovers (as of 308).
In Season 4, Tim develops diabetes, with extreme swelling in his foot. Tim again rejects traditional medicine, and his nephew introduces him to Dr. San, an (unlicensed) acupuncturist. However, Tim soon develops a "stage-3 infection" on his face from Dr. San's unsanitized needles. Tim skips an episode to travel to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, for a health rehab. He begins treating his diabetes by eating flax seeds.
Ayaka goes home to Japan in Season 4 due to a "visa issue", but in 410, reveals she is pregnant with Tim's child. Tim sends her money for an abortion, but she instead uses it to pay for a flight to California. She gives birth to Tom Cruise Heidecker (named after Tim's favorite movie star). Tim denies paternity. T.C.H. later dies, after Tim fails to bring him to a hospital to resolve his medical issues.
In Season 5, Tim moves from Los Angeles to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, buying a Kawasaki motorcycle, becoming a proponent of simple living & water rights. He returns to L.A. in Season 6, after getting beaten up by local bikers. Tim picks up a timeshare in Hawaii, where he films Decker: Port of Call: Hawaii. In 2016, Ayaka left Tim and he begun a relationship with Dekkar band member Axium's sister.
In Season 7, Tim reunites with Dr. San after finding out Ayaka had been working for him for a year. Tim dedicates episode 4 of the season to a forgiveness special for Dr. San, where Tim states he's forgiven Dr. San and is now having him look after his son Tom Cruise Heidecker. Later on in the season, Tom Cruise Jr. becomes ill, and in the Season 7 Finale, it's revealed that Tom Cruise Jr. passed away at the age of 1.
In Season 8, Tim begins to use a medicinal vape system designed by Dr. San. Tim ends up becoming addicted to the vape system. One night, during his stay at the Victorville Film Archive, Tim falls asleep with a lit vape in his hand. This starts a fire, which leads to much of his skin being afflicted with third degree burns and his clothes being fused to his skin. After the fire, veteran film star and friend of the show Joe Estevez gets a group of the most important people in Tim's life and throws an intervention for him. It ends with Tim yelling at everybody to get out except Axiom.
In Season 9, Tim ran a music festival called the Electric Sun Desert Music Festival, where he gave out vape pens Dr. San designed and distributed. This led to over 150 people being injured and sent to the hospital, along with 20 people dying, who would then be know as the "Electric Sun 20." Tim was arrested but released on bond. Shortly after Tim was released, Dr. San committed suicide by hanging himself. Originally Dr. San was going to be the one to face charges, but after his suicide, Tim was charged with 20 counts of 2nd degree felony murder.
Tim was represented by Mark Dwyer during the first day of the Trial, but fired Mark by the second day and represented himself. After 6 days, the trial concluded, with Tim being acquitted of the murder charges, the charge against Shawn Levin, and no unanimous decision was able to be reached for the other 19, with a breakdown of 11 for guilty and 1 for not guilty. It was declared a mistrial, and Tim was free to go home.
During Season 10, it was revealed that while Tim did not have to face repercussions in a criminal court, he still had a lot of civil suits he had to deal with. In particular, the Delgados, family of one of the Electric Sun 20 named Chris Delgado, seized much of Tim's enterprises, including Dekkar, Decker, and On Cinema. Tim, after threatening suicide to Mark Dwyer, was able to convince the family to let the show continue. After seeing an episode of the show, the Delgados had Tim lose control of On Cinema and gave it to Gregg instead. By the finale of season 10, Tim became furious with the situation and publicly announced his run for district attorney of San Bernardino County.
Trivia[]
- Tim's favorite movie is Jack Reacher (2012).
- Tim hates the James Bond series.
- Since a child, Tim has been legally blind in his left eye. This was exacerbated by his motorcycle accident in Episode 504.