Bob Odenkirk’s New Action Movie Nearly Cut One Of Its Funniest Jokes From A Brutal Fight Scene

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Bob Odenkirk returns with his signature blend of action and comedy in his new film, Normal, and nearly didn’t get to deliver one of its biggest laughs.

The Emmy-winning actor stars as Ulysses, a man temporarily appointed sheriff in a small Midwestern town after the previous sheriff dies. He’s initially relieved by the town’s peaceful atmosphere, especially since he’s dealing with marital problems and a difficult past job. But his quiet start is disrupted when a bank robbery reveals a hidden criminal network operating beneath the surface of Normal.

I was so excited to see Bob Odenkirk in this film, and the cast around him is incredible! You’ve got Henry Winkler, who I grew up watching, plus Lena Headey, who was amazing in Game of Thrones. It’s great to see Reena Jolly from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever too, and familiar faces like Ryan Allen from Shoresy, Billy MacLellan from Nobody, and Brendan Fletcher who was fantastic in Violent Night. Ben Wheatley directed it, and the script is by Derek Kolstad, who I loved on John Wick and Nobody. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025 and critics really seem to like it – it currently has an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is fantastic!

To celebrate the film’s premiere, ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan spoke with Bob Odenkirk, Ben Wheatley, Derek Kolstad, and Marc Provissiero at SXSW about their movie, Normal. They discussed the film’s action sequences, including a fight scene where Odenkirk’s character fights in a real diner kitchen. Because they didn’t have the money to build a safe, padded set for the actors, they had to use an actual working kitchen.

The cramped filming location not only increased the tension of the scene, but also resulted in one of the show’s most hilarious moments: Bob Odenkirk’s character, Ulysses, unexpectedly slipped and fell on a head of cabbage during the fight. Both Odenkirk and writer/producer Eric Kolstad shared that this wasn’t planned – it was a genuine accident. Kolstad laughed, saying they decided to keep the footage because it was so good. Odenkirk remembered being worried they wouldn’t have any usable footage of the fall at all.

When I stumbled during the fight scene, my first thought was, “Please don’t stop filming because of that!” I was worried they’d call ‘cut’ or just edit the slip in. I actually loved that it happened, because it felt authentic to the character – someone who’s imperfect and makes mistakes. It felt right that he would stumble and get hurt. In that moment, I thought it was fantastic and wanted them to keep the cameras rolling.

One Fight Scene Turned Out More Physical Than The Normal Team Intended

ScreenRant asked who would like to explain the basic idea of the project and how it originated.

I’m a writer who had an idea for a story inspired by classic movies from the 1960s, like ‘Bad Day at Black Rock,’ and the Hitchcockian theme of hidden truths. I quickly wrote an 11-page outline, but it took years to find the time to develop it. Eventually, Bob and I worked on the story and script together. The basic premise is about a man who temporarily fills in as sheriff – stepping in when the town’s sheriff is sick, retires, or passes away. He’s sent in by Homeland Security, and everything about him is fabricated.

ScreenRant: I was like, I didn’t know that sheriffs had temps.

Derek Kolstad is working on a movie about a man who arrives in a small town harboring a secret. Just when it seems he’s successfully keeping the secret hidden, a robbery occurs and everything falls apart.

ScreenRant: And what is all the history here? Have y’all worked together before?

Ben Wheatley: No, I’m the new kid.

ScreenRant: You’re the new kid. Are they hazing you?

Ben Wheatley admits there were challenges, but says the key is to stay strong and not let things bother you – then you can handle anything.

ScreenRant: I love seeing Bob going bonkers, it’s my favorite new genre.

Bob Odenkirk really enjoyed doing the action sequences in his films. He was surprised by how much fun he had with ‘Nobody,’ even though it took years of preparation. He found that filming action scenes wasn’t just about choreography and training – it was the unexpected moments on set that were truly exciting. Things rarely went exactly as planned, forcing the team to improvise and come up with creative solutions. This spontaneous invention led to a lot of laughter, reminding him of the joy he felt writing sketch comedy. He found the same level of inventiveness and fun on the set of ‘Normal,’ particularly in the fight scenes at locations like the hardware store, yarn shop, and kitchen. The atmosphere was filled with laughter after each successful take, a sign that everyone was enjoying the process.

So, I was chatting with ScreenRant about the “Nobody” films, and they pointed out how much trouble the main character gets into! They were curious what kind of crazy situations I, as the character in “Normal”, end up dealing with, and I was excited to tell them all about it.

Bob Odenkirk: Close-combat fighting, shooting a grenade launcher.

ScreenRant: As a GTA kid, that’s the weapon you want to get your hands on.

There’s a lot of exciting new action in this movie, and I especially loved the close-quarters fight scenes. The hardware store sequence was a highlight for me. We also have some really shocking and intense action, thanks to the work of second unit director Greg Rementer and director Ben Wheatley.

When I first read the kitchen fight scene in the script, I immediately pictured those big action sequences from the Mission: Impossible films – you know, the ones with the incredible, padded sets where they could really go for it without getting hurt. I assumed we’d build something similar, a safe space where everyone could safely throw themselves around. But honestly, when we actually started filming, it was… a real diner kitchen! Everything was hard, everything was sharp, and they hadn’t removed a single utensil. It was all just… as it was! I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is how we’re doing this?’ It was amazing, and we ended up shooting the whole thing over about two and a half days.

Bob Odenkirk: Yeah, you would want to build that if you could, but we couldn’t afford that.

Ben Wheatley: It was so small.

Bob Odenkirk explained that things like grills on set are dangerous. He pointed out that in action scenes, proper training and warming up are crucial to avoid injury. If you’re not prepared, you’re more likely to get hurt. While he got cut up a lot during filming, he surprisingly didn’t injure himself on the grill.

ScreenRant asked about the incredibly dangerous stunts Tom Cruise performs in the Mission: Impossible films, specifically mentioning him jumping off cliffs. They then asked what the craziest stunt the interviewee had ever done.

Bob Odenkirk: Running in snow?

ScreenRant: Running in snow is hard!

Yes, absolutely. The kitchen fight was definitely the most dangerous part of filming, mainly because the kitchen wasn’t actually designed to withstand a stunt fight.

Marc Provissiero: It was barely built to be a kitchen. It was built to be a closet. [Chuckles]

You know, as a critic, I’ve seen a lot of stunts, but one moment on set really stuck with me. We were trying to pull off this complicated bit, and it just wasn’t clicking. Everyone was getting frustrated. Then, out of nowhere, someone jokingly asked if catering had any watermelons – a total ‘Final Destination’ vibe, honestly. And wouldn’t you know it, catering did have two! We ended up using those watermelons as part of the special effect. It was a wonderfully absurd, last-minute save, and a reminder that sometimes the best solutions come from the most unexpected places.

Be sure to dive into some of ScreenRant‘s other SXSW coverage with:

  • The Sun Never Sets Review
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  • The Fox Review
  • I Love Boosters Review
  • Dead Eyes Review
  • One Another Review
  • Kill Me Review
  • Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Review
  • The Saviors Review
  • Family Movie Review
  • Power Ballad Review
  • Seekers of Infinite Love Review
  • Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice Review
  • Over Your Dead Body Review
  • Sender Review
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2026-03-19 00:18