When you have Bob Odenkirk at the heart of your project, things will never be as they seem. If you’re working on a prequel to one of the most successful and groundbreaking television shows of all time, like in Better Call Saul, it won’t be a soulless cash grab. Instead, it will be a slow-burning and meditative series that turns Odenkirk’s sleazy lawyer into one of television’s most tragic and compelling characters.
The same goes for the actor’s turn as Hutch Mansell in the 2021 film Nobody. What could have been another generic action movie instead turned out to be Odenkirk’s creative outlet for his own personal struggles. Now, Nobody 2 (2025) is looking to continue that trend with Bob Odenkirk’s contagious enthusiasm for relatable character work and visceral, grounded action sequences.
In conjunction with Universal and 87North Productions (the action studio behind The Fall Guy, Bullet Train, and Violent Night) debuting the first trailer for the sequel, Nobody 2, DiscussingFilm sat down with the lead star, Bob Odenkirk, for an exclusive interview! The sequel to the original 2021 film has quietly been brewing over the past couple of years, and we finally have plenty of exciting details to reveal from the star himself. From the extensive training the actor went through, to Nobody 2 being his most personal project since his early days on Mr. Show, Odenkirk had plenty to discuss about the upcoming action thriller.
Nobody 2 is About “Taking a F***ing Break”
Nobody 2 follows former government assassin Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) and his family (played by Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, RZA, Gage Munroe, and Paisley Cadorath) as they attempt to go on vacation. However, a bad encounter with some bullies leads Hutch down the path of violence, as the small vacation town of PlummerVille turns out to be home to dangerous smugglers and corrupt police.
In Bob Odenkirk’s own words, when we sat down with him over Zoom in New York the morning after one of his many Glengarry Glen Ross performances on Broadway this month, Nobody 2 is all about “the inability to take a f***ing break.”
Bob Odenkirk: “I love screen fighting. Daniel Bernhardt trained me for Nobody, and he trained me again for Nobody 2 — I enjoyed spending time with him. He’s a friend now, and so are most of the guys, including Greg Rementer. So, I’ve gotten to really know the stunt community. I’ve never been a person who loved exercise until I trained for Nobody, and there’s such a variety in what we do to train.
Most people’s workouts repeatedly consist of the same four things, and they get bored with them. But when you’re exercising and training for one of these action films, you’re going a million places every day and often don’t return to the same place. It’s fun, and it’s such a great camaraderie amongst the crew.”
Bob Odenkirk Wants to Keep the Relatability With Nobody 2
When gearing up to return for Nobody 2, Bob Odenkirk was sure to carry over the same thematic concept of creating something audiences could relate to. For the first movie, Odenkirk describes it as “authentic and grounded, partially because it was actually grounded in my real life. You know, I had two break-ins, I had a cop tell me ‘I wouldn’t have done that’ when I told them what happened, and how I wasn’t able to do anything.” This intense emotional experience carried over a philosophy for the sequel, which also had to be grounded in another relatable tension. As it turns out, it would be the work-heavy culture in America, as Odenkirk would go on to explain.
Bob Odenkirk: “For me, what mattered in the second movie was: what’s something that a couple could relate to as a tension in their life? One of the big ones in America, I don’t know if it’s around the world, is the inability to take a f*****g break and not work constantly or worry about our jobs. I think it’s a relatable thing. People are very driven in our country. It’s a great thing, but you also have to give yourself a f*****g break, and Hutch just can’t do it. Most people can’t do it. I’ve struggled to do it myself.”
Nobody 2 is Bob Odenkirk’s Most Personal Work Yet
Odenkirk has had a strenuous schedule in recent years, with six seasons of AMC’s Better Call Saul shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, being his most recognized work thus far. Perhaps the most infamous part of that production occurred in July 2021, when Odenkirk suffered a heart attack. The actor was hospitalized, and the series was delayed as he recovered. In this newest action film, Odenkirk displays his physicality more than ever before. Odenkirk tells us that he’s once again doing many of his own stunts in Nobody 2, showing how far he’s come since his health scare.
Despite all the fast-paced action and unconventional fight choreography, Nobody 2 is a deeply personal film for Bob Odenkirk. The fact that Hutch was born out of a traumatic experience was more than enough justification for him to return to the role. Additionally, as Odenkirk reveals to us, this entire experience is something he would do again in a potential third installment if given the opportunity!
Bob Odenkirk: “The truth is, Nobody is more of a personal movie than anything I’ve done since Mr. Show. It’s more of an expression of feelings that I have, and I don’t know quite where to put them, but I could put them into a movie and a performance. So, it’s a big conceptual life on a big screen. It’s not real life, but the feelings inside and the tensions on display are authentic to me and my world. I like following Hutch’s story, and I would like to play him again. I want him to succeed. Even though, in the end, I think he’s doomed.”
Hong Kong Action Classics Helped Inspire Nobody 2
Even though Bob Odenkirk has a grim outlook on Hutch’s future as a family man and an “auditor,” there was still plenty of fun to be had on set, especially in the fight choreography. Odenkirk, director Timo Tjahjanto (best known for his Indonesian genre movies The Shadow Strays and The Night Comes for Us), and their stunt team were inspired by one famous Hong Kong action cinema franchise in particular when creating the fight sequences of Nobody 2.
As seen in the brand new trailer, Hutch dispatches opponents in his signature messy style in one scene by using the arcade and carnival games surrounding him. If there’s any reason to see Nobody 2, it’s to see Hutch put himself and his enemies through the wringer in the most outlandish ways possible, combining Odenkirk’s penchant for comedy with his dedication to the craft of stuntwork.
Bob Odenkirk: “Regarding the carnival game fight [in the trailer], using the games and things in the arcade, and then the duck boat fight, those are the closest I have come to getting to do what I would consider a Jackie Chan-style fight. One of the reasons I even made Nobody was because I watched Police Story with my kids. That movie meant a lot to me, the first Police Story. What Jackie offers, especially in those early films, was something I wanted to come close to replicating as possibly as I could. In those two fight scenes, specifically, we’ve captured that in Nobody 2.”
Nobody 2 Invokes a “Powerful, Visual Magic”
Nobody 2 is a labor of love for Bob Odenkirk, who has channeled his experiences in various genres and mediums to deliver an action hero unlike any other we will see this year. In an era where the validity of the theatrical experience has been put into question, Nobody 2 serves as a reminder of the power of star talent like Odenkirk in roles that aren’t usually expected of performers like him. It showcases impressive stunt work and engaging family dynamics to create a summer action flick worth checking out on the biggest screen possible.
As Odenkirk would say before the interview ended, Nobody 2 is a film that reinforces the magic of movie-making, with an impressive cast that the actor can’t wait for everyone else to see in theaters, featuring powerhouse talent like Sharon Stone, Colin Hanks, and, of course, the iconic Christopher Lloyd.
Bob Odenkirk: “This movie really turned out the way I hoped it would and [director] Timo Tjahjanto brought a visual magic that is so powerful and sucks you in. Connie Nielsen showed up with the best energy and, oh gosh, I can’t say enough about the cast, just the best. Colin Hanks is outstanding in this thing. Sharon Stone… she brought everything she’s got to this, and I can’t wait until you see her. She’s awesome.”
Nobody 2 hits Theaters on August 15, 2025!
Release Date: August 15, 2025.
Directed by Timo Tjahjanto.
Written by Derek Kolstad & Aaron Rabin.
Story by Aaron Rabin.
Produced by Bob Odenkirk, Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, Marc Provissiero, & Braden Aftergood.
Executive Producer: David Hyman.
Main Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Christopher Lloyd, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Nolan Grantham, Pyper Braun, Colin Salmon, Billy MacLellan, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Colin Hanks, John Ortiz, Daniel Maclnnis, Cindy Myskiw, & Zara Longe.
Cinematographer: Callan Green.
Composer: Dominic Lewis.
Production Companies: 87North Productions & Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment.
Distributor: Universal Pictures.
Rated R.
