Bob Odenkirk Sets the Record Straight About Comedy, Action Movies and Oasis
Bob Odenkirk is punching air. While talking to the actor, Odenkirk is giving thoughtful, forthright answers to questions, but all the while, he's throwing some phantom punches, like he could be training for another big action movie. This makes sense. After a ton of fighting in Nobody 2 — in which he reprises his role as family man/hired assassin Hutch Mansell — there seems to be some action star muscle memory permanently lodged in Odenkirk's soul. Beforethe Nobody movies, the idea that the 62-year-old actor could play a dangerous hired gun might have been unthinkable. Isn't this the guy who co-created Mr. Show and embodied the title role in Better Call Saul?
But these days, he's exactly the type of guy we love to see kicking ass. As a relatable, down-to-earth, cool dad, Odenkirk exudes physical power and razor-sharp wit all at once. And, as Nobody 2 comes to the small screen on digital and on demand, Men's Journal caught up with Odenkirk to get his thoughts on the line between an action movie and an action movie spoof, how his Mr. Show days prepared him for his career now, and what he really meant to say about seeing Oasis live in concert.
Related: Bob Odenkirk's 'Nobody' Training Helped Him Survive Heart Attack
Men's Journal: Could you have imagined the setup of Nobodyas a comedy sketch back when you were doing Mr. Show?
I could certainly imagine making fun of action movies! The genre has so many cornerstone tropes that it's always fun to make fun of any trope and any genre thing. You can make fun of anything in a stylistically tropey way. You could make of of Wes Anderson tropes, or anything people know. I did a film festival with David Cross once, and we were there for something, but also to make fun of one of Steven Seagal's films. We just sat in the back and did the Riff Tracks thing.
But these are real action movies. What's the difference?
Because I've done so much comedy, one of the conscious thoughts that I had in this action area is that you can't really make fun of the tropes if you make an action movie. I realized that if I want to make a real action movie and I want to be judged and tested in this arena, I have to commit to those things and not make fun of them, because if I make fun of them, everyone who has even an inkling of what I've done is going to go, oh, he didn't mean it.
So, when you talk about these things — and certainly in Nobody 1 — whether it's punching the wall, or the big bad villain, or a confrontation in the night club, I had to play it dead, cold, serious, no joking.
How do the jokes work in the action context?
Most of the jokes have to do with the kind of fun that you can have when the violence is really intense and really scary and kinda painful — then a small comment, a light comment becomes very funny. In that context, an off-subject comment becomes really hilarious in the context of dead, cold, earnest seriousness and pain.
Related: 'Nobody 2' Rotten Tomatoes Score Sends Clear Message About Action-Comedy Sequel
How much of Nobody 2 is a character, and how much is you?
It's definitely from life. Just like Hutch takes his kids back to where he went on a vacation as a kid, I did that with my kids. So, I was tapping into all that for this movie. But that's true of the first Nobody; that was also from life. I had two break-ins in my home, and I was left with a lot of anger toward the people who did that, and I got to play that out.
I saw an interview in which you said that when you saw Oasis recently, you were even more impressed with the opening band, Cage the Elephant —
—I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to clarify! I'm not sure why that headline was the way it was. I saw Oasis at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Cage the Elephant [the opening band] blew me away. I've never seen an opening band feel like the headliner. But, having said that, Oasis f*cking slaughtered, and I loved it. I was all on board. And I saw Oasis once before at the Universal Amphitheaters, and it wasn't half the show we got the other night. It's the best f*cking show you can see, especially if you know their music.
Any more action movies?
There are a couple of movie ideas I have with [Nobody screenwriter] Derek Kolstad. One is like a PG thing, sorta an early Jackie Chan style, where it's very clever in the fighting. No blood. No guns, really. And then, there's another movie that is as bloody and scary and as ugly and dark as it gets. I mean, I'm referencing Old Boy and Taxi Driver when I talk about it. So, polar opposites of different action movies. We'll see — whatever comes my way.