By Associated Press Film Writer Jake Coyle
NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Odenkirk, sporting a Chicago Cubs cap and sunglasses, sneaks into a coffee shop in the West Village.
Odenkirk years ago may have required a certain amount of deceit. Fans of The Larry Sanders Show or Mr. Show may have recognized him. However, Odenkirk has gradually made the transition from the periphery to the center of popular culture. Although he is now well-known, he is a moving target.
In addition to being a comedy icon, Odenkirk is 62 years old, a six-time Emmy nominee for Better Call Saul, a Tony nominee for Broadway’s Glengarry Glen Ross, and—most unexpectedly—an action star.
And he’s not even a novice. As the follow-up to the 2021 pandemic hit original, Nobody 2, Odenkirk’s butt-kicking credentials are essentially confirmed. He reprises his role as the suburban father with latent destructive abilities, Hutch Mansell, in the follow-up, which debuted in theaters on Thursday. This time, he and his family get into problems while on vacation in Wisconsin Dells.
Before a day of promotion-related duties, Odenkirk remarks, “My objective is Jackie Chan’s Police Story,” while enjoying an iced tea. It’s there to be humorous. The absence of irony is the distance. Hutch must be sincere.
In a way, Odenkirk’s unexpected but genuine transformation into Keanu Reeves territory has only served to highlight the anger that permeated his comedy. In a lighthearted but passionate conversation, Odenkirk described how all of these versions of himself make sense and how no one could have even prevented his death.
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ODENKIRK: I was thinking, “They’re not going to make this movie, and I’m getting free exercise training,” while I was training. My second thought was: David Cross, Conan O Brien, Adam Sandler, and David Spade will watch me do this and ask, “Really?” if they produce this movie. It’s simply so profoundly incongruous. In the first one, I could have hoped for more humor. And that was not what I wanted. I had two options: either make a realistic action film that would astound my buddies, or not make one at all. Don’t use the form if you only intend to make fun of it. Or simply play Naked Gun, which is also a lot of fun. The funny part of what I did, in my opinion, was actually doing it. At the cosmic level, that is absurd. I’m actually playing tricks on the cosmos. Yes, I am. The main joke is that. What should I do with it now? The question is that.
ODENKIRK: I considered Saul’s personality. He never gives up. They shove him about. He’s smart. He needs to find a way out of the situation he’s in. That character is an action one. Indeed, it seems as though you’ve traveled a great distance. I didn’t actually travel that far. One step at a time. This is a significant step. Saul has everything else. I did anticipate that this would be difficult to sell to those who are familiar with my humor. However, that isn’t a large number. That group is a cult.
ODENKIRK: (laughing) Certainly.
ODENKIRK: This whole thing starts with a tap on the shoulder. He consents to go. Then there’s this tiny tap. After that, he departs. He’s out there. He can continue to walk, just as you would. You would tell your wife, “That guy tapped her on the back of the head,” when you got home. It would simply be with you indefinitely. If Hutch hadn’t allowed himself to become insane, the entire situation might have been prevented.
ODENKIRK: Definitely. I recall spending the morning sitting with David Cross. We would begin our time at Mr. Show by sitting around with the paper and attempting to come up with ideas. Frequently, it was: Look at this dumb thing, or This truly annoys me. So, yes, the basic foundation of comedy is rage and irritation.
ODENKIRK: You feel angry because of life, yet no place is worthy of it. When he first seeks to get revenge in the first movie, he discovers that none of these individuals deserve it and have nothing. He targets this guy in the second movie and says, “I’m under her thumb.” I love that it’s actually not something you’re supposed to do in an action movie. There is more than one terrible guy around every corner. You must go in search of it.
ODENKIRK: The lesson is that everything he holds dear is no longer there. He destroyed all he held dear. Because the film is designed to be entertaining and to convey the message that you can let go of your anger in this wonderful realm, we allowed him to get away with it. Ultimately, though, I believe it to be an addiction. He wants to do it, too. Like all men, he wants to give it a shot. We have movies for that reason. We have boxing fights for that reason.
ODENKIRK: The doctor told me that I had virtually little scarring from that incident when I had my EKG, which shows the heart. And given how severe the episode was and how long it lasted, that’s sort of strange. They were like: This should all be scar tissue, and there s none. They said that s because these other veins are bigger than we re used to seeing, and that s from all the exercise you ve been doing. And, dude, I did a lot. I went from a comedy writer who exercised just by riding a bike three or four times a week to the action I did in those movies.
ODENKIRK: Well, I got nothing. Nothing. I did talk to my family the next day. I woke up the next day around 1:30 and talked to my wife and kids. I was talking to people for the next week, and I don t remember any of it, or the day that it happened.
ODENKIRK: (Long pause) It s a big component of my thinking about who I am and what I want to do with myself and my time. The thing that s driven me the most in my life is a sense of responsibility. Not just like, Oh, I have kids. I have to make money and take care of them. But, like, responsibility to the universe. Oh, they ll let you do this action movie. Well, then you better do a f great job. They want you do Better Call Saul. Well, let s go. The universe is saying: You can do this. And you owe that opportunity that s so unjustified and magical. I just feel responsibility almost too readily. But the heart attack, however you want to feel about everybody s expectations of you, I mean, you re going to be gone. The world s going to go on without you, just fine. So I don t know, man. Yeah, you ve got to come through for people. But you ve also got a lot of freedom to invite who you want to be.
