The recently released revenge-action film Nobody, starring Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, Mr. Show), seemed to pop up out of nowhere with a sudden announcement and subsequent theatrical release on March 26. But as Variety is reporting, its star “underwent two years of training to do his own stunts.”
For the everyman turned action star, it’s an impressive amount of dedication, but hardly a shock as hardcore Better Call Saul fans have heard Odenkirk’s fitness regimen discussed for years on the Better Call Saul Insider Podcast. (Particularly around the comic actor being directed to make his character less athletic onscreen and pretend to be winded more easily.) In addition to that work, while also filming Better Call Saul, Variety says Odenkirk “trained twice a day for 45 minutes in martial arts with stuntman Bernhardt.” Once production got underway for Nobody, that 45 minutes became a total of two hours minimum.
“When you have a star who is willing to learn complicated bits of [fight choreography], it becomes a bit easier,” director Ilya Naishuller said. “We could do everything without cheating the camera.”
Odenkirk had been praised for his commitment to dramatic acting in Better Call Saul, and Naishuller says the actor extended that to the physical aspects of his performance overall in Nobody. Supervising stunt coordinator Greg Rementer agreed, adding, “Bob could feel comfortable about where his punches landed and unleash them in a way that took his training to the next level. It’s such a special scene because he looked like a prizefighter ready to take his first fight; he looked like he was going to rip those guys apart.”
It will be interesting to see whether any of this preparation boomerangs back and is present on the upcoming sixth and final season of Better Call Saul, which began filming recently and is “likely” to air in early 2022.
