Bob Odenkirk Is Officially in His Liam Neeson Action Phase
Anyone who watched Mr. Show with Bob and David back in the mid-‘90s probably wasn’t expecting that the guy who played Senator Tankerbell would one day become a legit Hollywood action star.
But after showing off his dramatic acting chops in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Bob Odenkirk went full John Wick in 2021‘s Nobody, in which he played a suburban family man who is revealed to be a former elite assassin.
Odenkirk reprised the role of Hutch Mansell in this year’s Nobody 2, which ended up struggling at the box office.
Odenkirk just proved that his cinematic badassery isn’t limited to the Nobody franchise. In fact, Odenkirk seems to be settling into a late-stage action career with as much ease as Liam Neeson, minus the jaw-dropping WTF interviews.
The Odenkirk-starring Normal just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Midnight Madness program. He plays a world-weary interim sheriff who’s been tasked with filling in for a deceased lawman in a small Minnesota town. Oh, and the town is literally named Normal. But like many idyllic movie towns, Normal, Minnesota harbors a dark secret. And when the new sheriff catches wind of this secret, all hell breaks loose.
Directed by Ben Wheatley (of Kill List, Free Fire and Meg 2: The Trench fame) and scripted by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad (who also penned both Nobody movies), Normal seemingly took inspiration from a number of famous films such as Fargo, High Noon, Die Hard, Hot Fuzz and, for just one scene, Blazing Saddles. It’s an intentionally schlocky, ultraviolent B-movie that feels like it could have been a top-tier straight-to-video release back in 1994.
It’s a lot of fun to watch, especially with an audience, but it’s hard to imagine Normal working with anyone other than Odenkirk. He’s a genuinely great actor and a captivating screen presence, in addition to being perpetually likable and, obviously, funny. There’s something very satisfying about seeing a 62-year-old Odenkirk, sporting a Gene Takavic-esque stache, mowing down bad guys with machine guns and blowing up goons with dynamite.
Swap Bob Odenkirk out for, say, Jason Statham, and the movie would be borderline unwatchable.
While promoting the film at TIFF, Odenkirk admitted that his action movie pivot was his idea, calling it a total brain fart.” The notion came to him after his brother texted a photo of Better Call Saul playing on a TV in China. Odenkirk reasoned that becoming an action hero would be a great way to sell himself to international audiences.
Of course, if he continues to follow the Liam Neeson trajectory, he may loop back around and start doing comedies again.
