While already famous for his comedy work, Bob Odenkirk blew up in the pop culture zeitgeist thanks to his role as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and it’s safe to say the world never expected him to become a bonifid action star—yet here we are. His first foray was with Nobody, a John Wick-esque action film, which followed family man Hutch, someone with heavy combat experience who was reluctantly pulled back into the life.
Odenkirk is back and kicking ass with Normal, which premiered at TIFF and recently screened in Austin, Texas, at South by Southwest Film Festival. Normal follows Ulysses, a substitute sheriff in a small town. Before long, he finds himself in the middle of trouble and forced to fight his way to survival, for both him and the town.
If it’s not obvious yet, someone being reluctantly forced into action isn't unfamiliar, particularly for Odenkirk. So what exactly sets Normal apart from the Nobody franchise?
The Direct spoke with Bob Odenkirk (Ulysses), Derek Kolstad (Screenwriter), Marc Provissiero (Producer), and Ben Wheatley (Director) at SXSW, where we discussed why Normal is distinct from Nobody, and how Odenkirk approached this role utilizing his comedic background.
Normal hits theaters on April 17, 2026.
What Separates Bob Odenkirk's Normal From Nobody
There's More Than Just the Starting Letter.
- The Direct: "I wanted to ask an honest question here, because I think some people might look at this and go, 'Wait, is this Nobody?' Like, is this Nobody 3? So I wanted to ask you, how is this not Nobody? How does this film differ, and what should audiences expect?"
Ben Wheatley: I think it's because it's basically a totally different character. It's like a lot of movies that have the same actor, and they don't say that about them... I think it's more that the story is not about a trained killer or someone with extraordinary skills. It's much more blue collar, and it's a much more everyman, and there's a lot more pathos and kind of empathy in it.
Derek Kolstad: Sonia, my wife, is my first line of defense, and Josh Adler is my manager, and we get all of these titles wrong because they start with an 'N', right? But what's different is—what isn't different is, I fucking love both these characters, but Hutch from 'Nobody' runs towards danger. Ulysses, in 'Normal', doesn't want anything to do with it. He's just there to do his job. He's ignoring everything in the hopes of just moving on. But at a certain point, when you realize he can't, he begrudgingly becomes the hero. And as soon as he does that, holy shit, dude, he's gonna, you know, scorch and salt the earth.
Bob Odenkirk on Bringing His Comedic History to the Table
"It Is a Difficult Thing Sometimes to See how Far You Can Push It..."
- The Direct: "You've said Ulysses sees the world through an ironic lens, and that you brought your comedy DNA to this, with SNL and Mr. Show to the character. Where is that line between playing it funny and like playing it real and never going too far in either direction?"
Bob Odenkirk: It is a difficult thing sometimes to see how far you can push it, how silly you can be, and sometimes I have an instinct to go over the edge. I mean, you can always do another take and go like, let me just go too far. And I've done that on a number of films, but they were not going to use that, because in a drama, obviously, you have to believe in the world and the characters, and if somebody gets too goofy, it would hurt the film. So I try, I push it.
The full red carpet interviews can be watched below.
Normal lands in theaters on April 17, 2026.
