Movies - Nobody : Be ready for one the best action movies of this year

By Mulder, 26 march 2021

Sometimes, the man you don’t notice is the most dangerous of all.

Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody. When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe, The Shack), is disappointed in him, and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen, Wonder Woman), seems to pull only further away. The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Alexey Serebryakov, Amazon’s McMafia)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.

Nobody is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry), from a script by Derek Kolstad, the narrative architect of the John Wick franchise, and co-stars legendary Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s father and multi-hyphenate musician-actor RZA as Hutch’s brother, whose own hidden talents aid Hutch in his quest for vengeance. The film is produced by Kelly Mccormick and David Leitch, the filmmakers of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde, for their company 87North, by Braden Aftergood (Hell or High Water, Wind River) for his Eighty Two Films, and by Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero (Hulu’s PEN15) for Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment. The film is executive produced by Derek Kolstad, Marc S. Fischer and Tobey Maguire. The film’s director of photography is Pawel Pogorzelski (Midsommar) and the production designer is Roger Fires (art director on Deadpool 2). The editors are William Yeh (Equilibrium) and Evan Schiff (John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) and the costume designer is Patricia J. Henderson (The Grudge). The composer is David Buckley (Jason Bourne).

Nobody is the story of a home invasion that propels an underestimated, overlooked man to tap into his most lethal and ruthless instincts to keep his family safe. If that feels like a wish-fulfillment fantasy for tens of millions of fathers, that’s because, in a way, it is. Bob Odenkirk, who is best known for playing Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, developed the story based on personal experience. “My home has been broken into twice, both times with my wife and kids and myself at home,” Odenkirk says. “The first time was particularly traumatic. As a dad, I felt the right thing to do was…nothing. I believe we made it through with minimum damage, but still, the experience has never left me, and I’ve always wondered if I should have been more proactive.”

Producer Marc Provissiero, who is also Odenkirk’s manager, adds: “Once the guy was taken away, the police officer said to Bob, ‘You did the right thing. It’s not what I would have done, but you did the right thing.’ That comment lingered with Bob. It was something he talked about. We discussed what it means as a father and a husband to protect your family, in this day, where men are guided to react in a different way than perhaps our fathers did, to sublimate more primal instincts. And that evolution is probably a good thing. But then, what happens when you’re that dad and your family is in danger? In brainstorming, we thought, what if we do something like Death Wish, or Taken, where a father has to protect his family, but he’s not the type of guy who just flips a switch and you know he will take down everyone in front of him? What if he’s a more suburban dad, an every-dad, and you’re not sure whether he’s capable.”

Eager to get the film off the ground, Odenkirk and Provissiero found producing partners in 87North’s Kelly McCormick and David Leitch, whose long list of action film credits includes the John Wick series, Atomic Blonde and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. McCormick was thrilled about the project. “I just fell for the idea,” McCormick says. “As a huge fan of Bob, I could see the stepping stones from his more comedic work to this role—playing an ‘action’ everyman who people could really connect to. I jumped at the opportunity.” Leitch adds: “Kelly championed this project for a long time. She responded to the material and that it had a great central character, Hutch, who’s relatable and has heart. There’s a connection to Hutch’s family and his longing to rediscover himself. Kelly has a great sense of material, and I was excited when she brought it to us.” After pitching the project to multiple studios, the filmmakers were thrilled when it landed at Universal, where 87North now has a first-look deal. “Nobody became the first project under our new deal with Universal,” McCormick says. “The studio responded very quickly to the material, which was a real testament to what they felt we could do. They took a bet on us and on Bob, and they moved extremely quickly on the project. It was the perfect test for what we hope to continue doing again and again under this partnership.”

Odenkirk and Provissiero also brought the idea to producer Braden Aftergood, who was equally quick to jump on board with the project. “Bob had this idea to make a film that was his version of 1974’s Death Wish by way of The Raid: Redemption,” Aftergood says. “Obviously, I was intrigued at the prospect of that, so I sat down with Bob and Marc at their office. Bob told me about some of the experiences he’d had in his life. I got excited about the idea, and we started putting the movie together.”

What adds an unexpected layer to the story is that in almost every other action film ever made, the actor playing the role of the “ordinary” man is anything but ordinary to the audience. “Charles Bronson is a ‘normal’ man in Death Wish, but he’s not normal to us; he’s Charles Bronson!” Aftergood says. “The actor is bringing his public persona to the role, too. Usually, movies like this—John Wick, Taken, The Equalizer, even Rambo—are based on the premise of the bad guys messing with the wrong guy. The bad guys mess with a tough guy who is even tougher than they are. Bob’s idea was: What if the bad guys messed with the ‘right’ guy? Meaning, what if they messed with a normal guy who isn’t a threat, who shouldn’t fight back, but then he does? It explores this idea of what a normal person’s capacity for violence is—or can be under the right circumstances.”

When it came time to find the ideal person to tackle the script, the filmmakers found that person in John Wick trilogy writer Derek Kolstad. “We developed a small wish list of writers,” Provissiero says. “Bob’s pedigree initially was in comedy. We had to stretch out of our area of comfort and seek a writer who could provide what was missing. We kept referencing a small list of films, John Wick being high on that list. We met with Derek Kolstad, and we were working together from that moment forward. He had already been a big fan of Bob, and he really understood our idea and that we wanted to approach this action film in a more character-based way. Derek throws hundred-mile-an-hour fastballs with action. Then Bob added his own dimensionality to the character as we honed the pitch.” Having worked with Kolstad on the John Wick trilogy, McCormick and Leitch became deeply familiar with his writing style and couldn’t imagine a better fit to write the script for Nobody. “Derek is great at setting up a world and creating empathetic characters within that world,” Leitch says. “I love working with him in the genre space. I think he’s a master of that craft.” McCormick adds: “Derek not only creates such relatable characters and cool genre stories, but his writing allows us, our action teams and the directors that we bring onto our projects the freedom to create really fun, iconic action.”

Once they had a script and a studio on board, the filmmakers were eager to move the film forward, but there was still one piece of the puzzle missing: a director. “We sat down with a lot of directors,” Aftergood says. “We put a lot of ideas for directors in front of Bob. A lot of people who felt fancy, a lot of people who had done work tonally similar to Better Call Saul. Bob wasn’t responding to any of them.” Odenkirk adds: “We needed someone who knew the action genre and knew me and was able to see the possibilities in bringing my presence, vulnerability and humor to a seriously played, unironic, action film.”

In came Ilya Naishuller, best known for directing 2015’s first-person action-thriller Hardcore Henry, who was high on the list of directors that the filmmakers were interested in. “Bob and I hadn’t seen Hardcore Henry, so we watched that and some other samples of Ilya’s work, and we were amazed by how inventive and beautiful his work was,” Provissiero says. “The action is artistic, at times poetic.”

The filmmakers were excited at what they knew Naishuller would bring to the table, particularly the audacity of his vision. “Bob was looking for this movie to feel unlike anything that he had ever done before,” Aftergood says. “Hardcore Henry was an extraordinary accomplishment, and we got excited about the prospect of bringing that vision to the world of this film.” McCormick was a fan of Hardcore Henry, but she was also captivated by Naishuller’s earlier work in Russia. “The music video that really put him on the map was ‘Biting Elbows – The Stampede,’ a first-person action music video,” McCormick says. “It was so cool and revolutionary. When David and I saw that, we thought, ‘We’ve got to watch this guy.’”

As it turned out, Nobody was exactly the type of project that Naishuller was looking for. “After Hardcore Henry came out, I spent the next three years developing my next projects, while keeping myself afloat by directing music videos, commercials and producing comedies back home in Russia,” Naishuller says. “I told my agents that if I was to accept an American feature film, I wanted it to be an action-thriller, starring an actor that would play against type (a comedian with a shotgun was the exact description) and the action should be done by 87North. Lo and behold, in April 2018, my agents sent me the script with the following: ‘Nobody—action thriller, written by Derek Kolstad, produced by 87North and starring Bob Odenkirk.’ Ask and you shall receive.”

Naishuller read the script and fell in love with the character of Hutch. He soon jumped on a call with Odenkirk to discuss his ideas for the film. “I pitched him my understanding of the themes and how I would make this an elevated action film beyond the expected,” Naishuller says. “The phone connection was horrible, but Bob heard enough to ask me to fly out to L.A. I prepared a 30-page presentation outlining my take on Nobody. We met with the team, I fired up the presentation, and I was on page 17 or so when they stopped me and said that I got the job. I don’t know if I was that convincing or if they were just dreading having to listen to me go over the rest of the pages. There was a lot—frankly, too much—detail.”

From the producers’ standpoint, when Naishuller presented his vision to them, everything clicked. “When you meet with a director who you know is the perfect choice, it’s a comforting feeling,” Provissiero says. “Watching Ilya present his vision of the tone, action, themes and styles of the film, we all just raised our hands and said, ‘Yes. Yes, Ilya. Please and thank you.’” Leitch adds: “Ilya makes interesting choices as a filmmaker. He’s great with character, but, more importantly, he swings for the fences. He wants to be provocative in his imagery and his style. He’s confident as a filmmaker in areas where a lot of people aren’t. He was great about being open to ideas and aggregating the good ones to combine with his own vision.”

Naishuller, McCormick says, brought a perfect balance of his own fresh ideas and an openness to collaboration. “To me, that makes the perfect product,” McCormick says. “He’s not only a bold visionary, but he had trust in his heads of departments and the producers, which created the perfect collaborative environment. We were so thrilled to bring him into our action world.” Naishuller envisioned the look and feel of the film to resemble a Korean thriller. “In my opinion, Korean thrillers capture a special romantic mood that envelops the action and are largely driven by somewhat darker heroes, almost anti-heroes, rather than relying on typical story points,” Naishuller says. “Derek Kolstad and I are huge fans of Korean cinema, and I remember giving Bob a few films to watch to familiarize himself with my intent while we reworked the script. A Bittersweet Life by Kim Jee-woon was my initial reference for mood, as it combines a strong lead performance with a simple yet affecting story. Its raw violence and action scenes feel just polished enough to be entertaining, but always avoid gilding the lily with unnecessary but expected pop visuals.”

Another element that attracted Naishuller to the project was that Hutch’s story is driven by interior conflict. “As Hutch pivoted away from being an international assassin, he overcorrected and now spends his days in an automated, mundane and lifeless suburban existence,” Naishuller says. “If you pay close attention, you’ll see that everything that happens to him during the film is the result of his own doing. This is rare for a studio picture. I always equated Hutch’s need for violence to an addiction, and I could not recall a strong film with a similar undercurrent. I was careful to avoid falling into the awfully tempting trap of going drama-heavy, but it was important to me that the audience not just relate to his humdrum life and a ‘cool past,’ but feel Hutch’s somewhat torturous desire to spice things up in a violent way.” Nobody fills the whole spectrum, with action set pieces, shock moments, dark moments and emotional moments, too. “David and I are trying to bring heart to these action films every time out,” McCormick says. “There’s an emotional core to this movie that really excited David and me that we hope connects with audiences. I hope people take away the idea that you can be living your best authentic self, even if you’re not ripping down the world around you like Hutch does.” But, she adds with a laugh, “if people just come for the ride, I’m ok with that, too.”

The fundamental goal for the filmmakers of Nobody was to do the unexpected, and that included the film’s casting. “The question for us was, what are the unexpected casting choices that we can put around Bob that will deliver on that promise without ever taking the audience out of the reality of the film?” producer Braden Aftergood says. It was also important that the audience feel an emotional connection to the characters. “We wanted to make sure that we set a tone within the movie where we keep the stakes real for the characters, but we also still care about them,” producer David Leitch says. “We wanted to see violence and consequences, but we also wanted there to be emotion.”

Director Ilya Naishuller had a personal motive behind his character and actor choices. “My father loves going to the movies, and we used to go together all the time, but as blockbuster spectacle began to squeeze adult storytelling into TV, I’ve struggled to find films he’d enjoy,” Naishuller says. “I made Nobody for my father, and the millions of people like him, who desperately want to see a good story, set in the real world, that features great actors.”

Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk)

Hutch is an overlooked, underestimated father and husband, but he has a secret past. When his home is broken into, his lethal skills are unveiled, and he’s forced to protect his family. Bob Odenkirk, who had not one but two similar break-in experiences with his own family, knows what Hutch is feeling all too well. “The feelings of frustration and the pain of those experiences are what propels Hutch, and I can relate to those feelings strongly,” Odenkirk says. Hutch is a guy who has settled and is coasting through life. “He’s somebody who comes home from work, puts on his sweats and clicks through the channels,” producer Kelly McCormick says. “He may be a little depressed, wondering if this is all there is to his life. When his house is broken into one night, it flips a switch for him. He gets his stuff back, but more importantly, he finds his mojo again.” As an actor, Odenkirk is someone people connect with on a human level. “They feel what he’s feeling,” producer Marc Provissiero says. “So, when he decides to take these guys on, there’s an ‘Oh my God’ feeling. It isn’t a suspension of belief to watch a superhero do super things. There’s an identification with him, which I don’t think is the case with your typical action star. He represents the everyday guy who is put in a position that real people could actually envision themselves in.”

Hutch was an auditor for the military in the past and now works at a tool and die shop. “Hutch is a regular guy, but all his feelings are outsized due to his past as a dangerous/renegade agent,” Odenkirk says. “Any regular dad wants to protect his family. Hutch feels that, times ten, due to his training. Any regular dad would want to strike back if his home was invaded, but for Hutch, this drive is oversized. He can’t help himself. The calmer angels of his nature are overwhelmed by the bloodlust he’d experienced as a younger man. Frankly, he is a man who drops his guard and allows himself to lose control. Thankfully, this is a movie, not real life.”

Director Ilya Naishuller spent a lot of time discussing the character with Odenkirk and writer Derek Kolstad. “We discussed his motivations, his dreams and his demons,” Naishuller says. “We all felt that while he is presented as a hero, the undercurrent is clearly that of an anti-hero, and it was an interesting challenge to walk this fine line. Nobody needed a grounded, real, relatable Hutch who would become a ferocious animal once released off the leash. With Bob’s tremendous acting and comedic writing experience and Derek’s and my thorough understanding of the genre, we aimed for a strong story and character backbone that would then allow for all the nuances of Bob’s performance.” Producer David Leitch was awed by Odenkirk’s resilience and dedication throughout the entire filming process. “He got incredibly sick over the last couple days of shooting, which was up against the Thanksgiving 2019 holiday,” Leitch says. “It was either he could tough it out, or Christopher Lloyd would have had to stay on location over Thanksgiving, and when Bob heard that, he was like, ‘Forget it. I’m staying,’ and worked even though he was in a lot of pain and having to leave to go puke his guts out. And, I must admit, the scene is maybe better for it…but it’s telling about how dedicated he is as an actor and a human being.”

Odenkirk believes that Hutch shares some DNA with his character from Better Call Saul, Jimmy McGill. “While I believe Hutch is built out of basic elements of Jimmy as well as my personal experiences as a father, I was excited by how far I would have to stretch to step into the world of intense action,” Odenkirk says. “Jimmy is a striver, his feelings lead him into dangerous situations, he gets knocked down a lot by life and he always gets back up. While much of my career was in comedy, I am far more well known for this character in Saul. I figured if I could train hard and pull off the physical moves, that I could bring a vulnerability and determination to an action-film role.”

And training hard is an understatement for the amount of commitment that Odenkirk put into the role. “I trained for two years with the best in the business, David Leitch’s action design team through 87North,” Odenkirk says. “In particular, the legendary DANIEL BERNHARDT. I loved and hated the training, but mostly loved it. I had a long way to go. My body is in good shape, I haven’t seriously pulled or broken anything in my life and I’ve never been particularly overweight, but I also was starting from scratch. I just devoted hours to it. I knew that persistence and hundreds (thousands!) of reps were the key. Especially regarding fast movements, things no one would do in a normal workout in regular life. Daniel Bernhardt exhibited superhuman patience as he led me through the basics over and over, always encouraging, as we figured out what I could do and what was a bridge a bit too far. Training with guns was also entirely new to me. I am afraid of guns, as a person rightfully should be. They are dangerous. But they are tools, and there are good practices to using them properly. MARK SEMOS, an actor/writer and ex-Navy Seal sharpshooter trained me. I entered into the work with a respect for the challenge and left with even more respect. I was excited to do this, something so far outside my wheelhouse.” Naishuller visited Odenkirk during one of his training sessions and was blown away. “It was a three-hour session,” Naishuller says. “Bob was rehearsing complicated demo sequences to reconfigure his mind from that of a writer and actor into that of a stuntman. By the end, he was drenched in sweat, tired and breathless, but kept going, performing his trainer’s commands. I distinctly remember thinking that behind every punch, kick, breath and fall, I saw Hutch, not Bob. It’s as if he stayed angry, bitter and in-character throughout the three-hour exercise. That’s the day I knew for sure that we have a shot at a special film.”

Yulian Kuznetsov (Alexey Serebryakov)

Russian villains are a staple of Hollywood action films, dating all the way back to the 1980s, during the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. They were so frequent, in fact, that they bordered on cliché. So, when it came to casting Nobody’s antagonist, Yulian, Russian director Naishuller was only comfortable with the character being of Russian descent if they could do him justice by avoiding stereotype. He also wanted to ensure the character was played by an actual Russian actor, and Alexey Serebryakov was always his number-one choice for the role. “Having been a fan of Alexey’s work for quite a while now and almost working with him a few years back, I was beyond excited to have him as our Yulian,” Naishuller says. “His acting is a force of nature, and that’s precisely what Nobody needed to work—a quiet storm to accompany and drive Hutch’s incoming thunder.” Serebryakov didn’t even need to read the script before he knew he wanted to work with Naishuller. “Ilya called me and I knew him from his previous movies and I trusted his professional opinions,” Serebryakov says. “He explained the role as a Russian bad guy and said that the goal of the role was to make this guy as memorable and significant as possible. It was important to make this guy stand out from all the other Russian bad guys that you see in movies. For Ilya, it was important to showcase the Russian characters in the most authentic way possible.”

Yulian is a lethal and dangerous member of the Russian mob, though he also has a soft spot for music. “Yulian owns a karaoke club and loves to sing, but most importantly, he’s responsible for taking care of the Obshak,” Serebryakov says. The Obshak, the financial system of the Russian mafia, consists of hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, which is perpetually moving from one hiding place to the next. While in many ways Hutch and Yulian are different, Naishuller found that the two characters’ transformations had similarities. “Yulian is a tough-as-nails gangster on the outside and a joyful, non-violent man on the inside,” Naishuller says. “Both he and Hutch are forced by circumstances to shift throughout the film, to face who they are and to accept themselves. And once they do, we see that they’re actually one and the same, and this character arc is what makes their battle so engrossing to witness. Alexey is virtually unknown to American audiences, which I view as a huge plus, as his authenticity further grounds the film and ups the sense of real danger to Hutch.”

Odenkirk thought Serebryakov brought an incredible charisma to the character. “Alexey is powerful onscreen, with incredible charisma and cold-blooded determination,” Odenkirk says. “He played this out-of-control person with incredible finesse and focus.” Serebryakov adds: “Bob was great to work with. Even though he couldn’t communicate in Russian and I couldn’t communicate in English, we both worked comfortably together.”
Serebryakov was also thrilled to work with such a professional, highly regarded director. “Ilya is hard-working,” Serebryakov says. “He brought a lot of energy to set, which gave us energy, too. He believed in his cast and crew. That was the main reason I wanted to work with Ilya—his energy, professionalism and experience in the field.”

Becca Mansell (Connie Nielsen)

Becca Mansell, played by Wonder Woman’s Connie Nielsen, is Hutch’s wife. Becca is disappointed because her relationship with Hutch has become distant, but she and Hutch are equally longing to rekindle their connection. Nielsen was attracted to the role because it explored the intricacies of marriage in a realistic way. “It’s rare to see the reality of a long-term relationship, the ups and downs and the difficulty of maintaining intimacy in a relationship, in both film and TV,” Nielsen says. “How do we maintain affection when our lives become boring, when our children grow up, when there’s stress about work and income? I love the small details of those scenes between Becca and Hutch.” The filmmakers wanted someone who could bring a warmth, sophistication and complexity to the character of Becca. “Connie brought all of that to Becca and more,” Kelly McCormick says. “The character needs to convey a lot without a lot of screen time, and there’s a way to play that role that could be perceived as divisive or cold. Becca and Hutch are living separate lives in a lot of ways. But Connie’s performance makes it clear that there’s still a lot of love in their relationship; it’s just complicated.” It was equally essential to Naishuller that the couple be portrayed genuinely. “It was important to us that we make Hutch and Becca feel as much like a real couple as we could and that we avoid the typical Hollywood age difference of 15-20 years between the leads,” Naishuller says. “Connie was perfect for Becca, and starting with our early discussions, Connie was generous to share a woman’s outlook on Becca and their relationship. She contributed to minor details of their home life that made their way onto the screen and that ring truer than had we not had her feedback.”

Although Becca has a basic idea of her husband’s past, she doesn’t know the full extent until it’s revealed in the film. Until now, she has decided not to prod for more than what Hutch has shared with her. “From Becca’s perspective, she has a husband who, all of a sudden, starts acting really strange,” Nielsen says. “And at the same time, the situation that he’s been forced into leads to him opening up. It was almost as if Becca and Hutch needed the truth to be spoken about where they were at. It creates a tender and beautiful moment for them.” Odenkirk thought Nielsen had great professional and personal experience that made her perfect for the role. “Connie brought smarts, toughness and beauty to the role of Becca,” Odenkirk says. “Holy cow, were we lucky to have such a pro. She’s a mom, too, so she knows what it feels like to be protective over kids. Connie wonderfully plays a challenging role in Becca, who knows something of Hutch’s past, but they seem to have some agreement to keep it hidden.” The delicate moments in the film between Becca and Hutch stood out to Naishuller. “My favorite scene in the entire film is a conversation they have in the kitchen as Becca patches him up after the fight,” Naishuller says. “Two people adrift, reaching out to each other, thinking for a second that maybe not all is lost. We spent so much time dissecting the scene with Bob and Connie that when it came time to shoot, I just put two static cameras in their faces and rolled. We got all the emotion in one take. It’s moments like these when you feel both accomplished and useless as a director. They did a perfect job, and I had nothing to add, nothing more to direct.” The detailed imagery that Naishuller added to the narrative was a helpful stepping stone in Nielsen’s acting approach. “Ilya is such a visual person,” Nielsen says. “He painted the picture of what the whole film was going to look like, which was helpful. You get used to hearing a lot of words used to describe film and television, so it was great to have this film be so visual from the start.”

David Mansell (Christopher Lloyd)

David, portrayed by Christopher Lloyd, is Hutch’s father. He’s a calm, stealthy man of few words. David once lived a life filled with adventure and danger as a Vietnam veteran and former FBI agent. Now, David lives in a nursing home and watches countless reruns of old Westerns while looking at his life through a nostalgic rearview mirror. “David is a man who grew up in an environment that made him canny and skilled,” Lloyd says. “He enjoyed that life and didn’t possess the customary fear of it. He has a fine sense of how to survive, and his son has inherited a lot of those particular life skills, too.” To Hutch, David is a living example of what happens when you hang up your guns and settle down. “It was crucial for me that David be played by an octogenarian actor who had a warm, grandfatherly energy, with the baggage of being a universally loved performer, and hopefully with the added bonus of not having been in a shotgun- wielding action role prior,” Naishuller says. “I pitched my take on David to the team and it was actually Bob who came up with Christopher Lloyd, who we all agreed fit the bill beautifully.” Odenkirk was having lunch with Provissiero when the idea came to him. “We wanted there to be an element of surprise in the role of David,” Provissiero says. “We were having a hard time casting that role, and, halfway through a bite of spicy tuna, Bob said, ‘Christopher Lloyd,’ and it put a smile on both of our faces.”

Odenkirk adds, “Christopher Lloyd just popped into my head. He’s likable, but maybe a bit deranged and intense. What a perfect fit to play David! You love the guy, and he sure can wield a shotgun or six.” Speaking of wielding multiple shotguns, the topic came up on Naishuller’s initial call with Lloyd, too. “I specifically recall what he said regarding the idea of having David wear lots of shotguns to avoid reloading in mid-action,” Naishuller says. “I pointed out that carrying four or five real shotguns would be heavy and impractical, but Christopher said, ‘Ilya, you know when actors carry empty boxes in films, the audience always knows?’ I said, ‘Yes sir, I do,’ and his reply was, ‘Well then…’ He’s a true professional, and he exuded a tenderness in the character mixed with experience that completely locked with David.” David and Hutch comfortably inhabit a world that might be alien to most, and Lloyd was excited to take on a role like this because it was unlike anything he’d done before. “When Hutch gets in a rather complex, dangerous situation, David comes out of retirement and just loves it,” Lloyd says. “He thrives in this high-risk, violent situation. I hadn’t done action-thriller types of films before and was intrigued by this one. Ilya worked beautifully and economically with precision, quickness and attentiveness to detail. And I had seen Bob’s work previously and was attracted to it and to the clear quality of his work.”

Harry Mansell (RZA)

Harry is Hutch’s adoptive brother and is played by musician-actor RZA. He’s supportive of his family and will go to any lengths to protect them. “Harry is Hutch’s brother from another mother,” RZA says, with a laugh. “Hutch and David are the only family Harry has, so he’s committed to doing whatever it takes for that family.” When it came to casting the role, the filmmakers knew they wanted an actor close to Odenkirk’s age and someone with a distinct voice, but the film’s tone needed a different sort of performer than audiences would expect. “We needed someone who was not just an actor, not a case of stunt-casting, but a man who was cool in a pure pop-culture way,” Naishuller says. “The list of potential Harrys was short and RZA was at the top. We were lucky to get him, especially with his complicated schedule. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time now, having been to several of his concerts, so it was exciting to get him aboard. He arrived in snowy Winnipeg and when I met him for the first time, he said the loveliest words a director can hear from an actor: ‘I’m here to serve the movie.’ And he did just that throughout the shoot.” RZA was a fan of Naishuller’s Hardcore Henry and appreciated his smooth-yet-energetic energy on set. “Ilya was patient and gave the actors time to find the scene or the moment,” RZA says.

“You may not get what you’re going for until the sixth or seventh take, and he allowed us to breathe and catch the energy. He has a knack for action films and punchlines, and I was really pleased with what he was capturing on set. In a nutshell, I was there just to be at his service, and the experience was everything I hoped it would be, and more.” Harry is mysterious and we get a sense that there’s more to him than meets the eye, but something that’s certain is his support of his brother, Hutch. “Harry is the yin to Hutch’s yang,” Naishuller says. “A man living in exile, for reasons best left unsaid. Completely in self-control. He speaks to Hutch not unlike an angel on the shoulder, advising him to stay frosty.” Odenkirk agreed that RZA brought the differences between Harry and Hutch to life. “RZA is known as an action-hero fan and filmmaker himself, but I was thrilled at the humor he brought to Harry,” Odenkirk says. “Unlike Hutch, Harry isn’t ‘undercover’ as a calm, low-key, suburban dad. Harry is relaxed, affable and smart. Harry knows his brother is barely containing himself, and that he will be called upon to save him and will be there when inevitably called upon.” Harry and his father, David, come to Hutch’s side at a pivotal moment in the film, forming an unexpectedly kickass trio. “I’ve been a fan of Bob for years, so getting a chance to work with him was a nice treat to my career,” RZA says. “Christopher Lloyd is a legend. I remember when I was a kid, I saw this episode of Taxi where his character, Jim, played Mozart on the piano. I became a fan at that moment. On set, I got the chance to talk to him about the scene, which was cool. To share the screen with him was truly an honor. Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd and me, we seem like an unlikely team to put together in an action film. But it works. It’s like the first guy who put cheese and pickles on a burger and discovered that it tasted good.”

Eddie Williams (Michael Ironside)

Eddie, played by Michael Ironside, is Hutch’s father-in-law, and although he comes off as looking down on Hutch, he also has a soft spot for him. Eddie sincerely wants Hutch to succeed and, like many of the characters surrounding Hutch, is intrigued by the peculiar changes in his son-in-law. “Eddie is the dad figure in this strange family unit,” Ironside says. “And he serves as a sort of bridge between Hutch’s normal everyday life and this violent secret life that gets unleashed.” When casting Eddie, Naishuller jumped at the chance to have Ironside in the film. “I’ve been a fan of Michael since I saw RoboCop and Total Recall as a young boy,” Naishuller says. “As someone who is known for playing tough guys and villains, it was a pleasure to see him play a fatherly figure, which as it happens is what Michael himself is like.” Ironside agrees that he liked the change in pace of the role. “Normally I play guys who, if they’re confronted by someone, they just kill the person,” Ironside says. “In this film, Eddie is much more of a ‘yes, sir; no, sir’ kind of guy. Bob’s character, Hutch, is the one who does the killing. I’m excited for audiences to see Bob carry a movie like this. Most people know him from Better Call Saul or his work as a comedian, and I think they’re going to be surprised by what else he can do. It feels like he’s opening up a whole new chapter to his life and career.”

Ironside appreciated that Naishuller was in his element as a director and created an open set for everyone. “Ilya has absolute enthusiasm for what he’s doing, and it’s infectious,” Ironside says. “He’s got a great sense of casting, and when you cast a film properly it makes everyone’s job much easier. He invites ideas and creates a familial feel on set. He created an egoless set, at every level, and that’s a great environment to work in.” On their first day shooting, Naishuller recalls directing Ironside in a scene that ultimately didn’t make the final cut, but that set the tone for the great rapport that Ironside brought to set. “We were shooting a phone conversation scene, and my cinematographer Pawel and I wanted a specific camera move as Eddie picks up an old rotary phone, dials and speaks two pages of dialogue. Michael was acing the scene, but the dolly timing wasn’t sufficiently smooth. Michael called me over, put his hand on my shoulder and asked, ‘Is this gonna be one of those films where you know exactly what you want, and you’re gonna get it?’ I said, ‘Umm, yes, sir,’ and he asked, ‘OK, let me ask you, are you married?’ I answered, ‘Yes, for about 10 years.’ Then he sighed and said, ‘She must be one patient woman.’ He then patted my back good-naturedly and continued patiently acing the scene.”

Charlie Williams (Billy MacLellan)

Charlie, played by Billy MacLellan of The Silence, is Hutch’s passive-aggressive brother-in-law. “Charlie is your classic dude bro, douchebag royale,” Naishuller says. “He constantly looks down on Hutch, taking pleasure in humiliating him, not knowing the real Hutch, whom he will discover is someone different, in a painful way. Billy is a gentle, kind soul so he had a ton of fun playing a complete asshole. I told him, ‘I want the audience to want to punch you. Stay punchable at all times.’ And stay punchable he did.” Not only was MacLellan intrigued by the script, but by his first interaction with his director, too. “I saw Ilya’s Hardcore Henry opening weekend, and I thought it was a real feat of filmmaking,” MacLellan says. “So, when I read the Nobody script, I was excited to see what Ilya was going to do with it. I’m a huge movie nerd, so I’m often disappointed when I first meet a director and I can out-nerd them. I tried to do that with Ilya when I first met with him, and he started throwing me references to films I hadn’t even heard of. We were jamming about our favorite director commentaries! That was a good sign. He’s a super-smart dude. In fact, I don’t think he knows how smart he is. It’s like there’s no ego there. That’s rare.” MacLellan shared most of his scenes with Michael Ironside, who plays his onscreen father.

“Michael and I were like two peas in a pod pretty instantly,” MacLellan says. “We were hugging each other in about four minutes. It was a strong sense of fellowship almost immediately. One of my favorite moments on this movie was a scene I did with Michael, the two of us just sitting in a truck. We’re sitting there, and Michael starts singing a song, and I say, ‘That’s John Prine,’ and Michael starts telling me these great John Prine stories. To get to sit and listen to Michael Ironside tell stories, man. I can’t believe I get paid to do it.” Ironside adds, “Billy and I met each other at our hotel the first night we arrived to begin production. We went and had dinner and just hit it off. We went, ‘Lord, this is pretty good casting.’”

Blake and Abby Mansell (Gage Munroe and Paisley Cadorath)

The filmmakers searched extensively for the right actors to play Hutch and Becca’s children, and after auditioning every child actor in Winnipeg, Gage Munroe and Paisley Cadorath were the standouts. Hutch and Becca’s 16-year-old son Blake is athletic and a little moody, like a lot of teenage boys. “The son needed to play teen angst but avoid the expected portrayal while bringing a deeper sense of dissatisfaction with Hutch’s character to work,” Naishuller says. “After a brief chat, Gage sent us a home tape audition that nailed the look and disappointment required. He had a great time playing against Bob and Connie, easily keeping up with the occasional improvisation. I enjoy actors who can turn on a dime like that.” Abby Mansell, on the other hand, is the only character who is openly warm to her dad, Hutch. “Paisley is a very sweet girl who takes direction well and even though she doesn’t have much screen time, she brings a light to the film that helps to counterbalance all the darker elements,” Naishuller says. “Her father would bring her young brother to set and together, they’d sit by the monitors watching Paisley in her first screen appearance. Amidst the casual chaos of a shoot, it was heartwarming to see them come out to support her.”

The Russian Mafia

In addition to casting a Russian actor for Yulian, Naishuller rounded out the other members of the Russian Mafia utilizing his own experience with Russian culture. “For further authenticity, we came up with the character of Pavel,” Naishuller says. “Pavel is played by Canadian-born actor ARAYA MENGESHA, who, interestingly, is a member of the Imperial family of Ethiopia on his father’s side. He performed his part in Russian. Pavel is based on a real group of people that I knew growing up—The Olympic Kids, who were sons and daughters of athletes that were born nine months after the Moscow Summer Olympics of 1980. As far as I’m aware, no film prior to Nobody featured a representative of this group.” Every time Russians converse between themselves in the film, they speak Russian with subtitles, which was important to Naishuller. “We also invited Winnipeg-based Russian and Ukrainian immigrants for minor and background roles, which added to the flavor and authenticity. Furthermore, Teddy, Yulian’s younger brother whose run- in with Hutch at the bus prompts Yulian’s revenge, is played by Russian film star ALEKSANDR PAL in his American film debut. We also had SERGEY SHNUROV, a hugely popular Russian rock musician, who cameos as one of the killers sent to off Christopher Lloyd’s character.”

Odenkirk’s Unparalleled Transformation (The Stunts of Nobody)

The amount of training that Bob Odenkirk put into Nobody was unprecedented. “As I understand it, it’s normal for an actor to train for four to six weeks for an action film,” producer Marc Provissiero says. “That’s standard and is normally enough for the actor to execute the action sequences, mainly because their stunt double will be doing a large percentage of the actual stunts. Do you know how long Bob trained for this role? Two years. And when I say Bob trained for two years, I mean, he trained before there was a film to train for. When he started training, we didn’t have a greenlight. We didn’t even have a yellow light. We had a first draft of a script for a different studio that decided not to make the film.” So, why would Odenkirk begin training for Nobody long before the film was even greenlit? “If you know Hollywood, you know that the chances of a unique film like Nobody getting made are small,” Odenkirk says. “But I knew that if it did get a greenlight, that I needed to be ready, and that I had a long way to go. Keep in mind that, from the start, I knew I wanted to do my own stunts, and do them up-to-par with good, if not the best, action actors of our time. No ‘cutting around’ my mistakes. I wanted to pull it off. I have always loved Jackie Chan’s films, and you absolutely know that he is doing those moves; they aren’t a body double and a lot of fast-paced editing covering for him. That is what I intended from the start.” After stopping by one of Odenkirk’s first training sessions, Naishuller was floored. “What I loved about what I saw was that it wasn’t easy for him,” Naishuller says. “Bob was getting tired, but he was still going at it and persevering. He’d get up, go again, collapse and repeat. There was something incredibly raw and real about what I was seeing. I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say, I came out of that building and said, ‘I hope we get to make this movie because as an audience member, I would want to see that.’ Bob in action was just electric.” Luckily for Odenkirk, he was working with the stunt industry’s leading company, co-founded and headed by 87North producer David Leitch, 87eleven Action Design.

Leitch and his team have created action for myriad projects, including the John Wick series, Atomic Blonde and Jurassic World. Odenkirk was paired with fight coordinator Daniel Bernhardt, who trained him extensively over the course of two years. “Bob would drive 45 minutes to train with Daniel twice a day and they trained like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Provissiero says. “We knew that the only way this movie would work would be if it were completely believable that it was Bob throwing these punches and being punched back. Bob knew he had a huge mountain to climb and he climbed it every single day. Even when Bob started shooting Better Call Saul, Daniel would fly to Albuquerque and do training sessions with him on the weekends. This wouldn’t have happened without 87North. Their support, even during the early stages, was unconditional.”

87North, the production company founded by producers David Leitch and Kelly McCormick, strives to create films featuring action sequences that are unique and fresh. “Our approach to action at 87North has always been to train the actors to do as much as possible,” Leitch says. “We take someone who’s essentially an everyman or everywoman and transform them into someone who you could believe could pull this off. When we presented this to Bob, he took on the challenge wholeheartedly and dove into the training. He spent two years being consistent in learning stunt fighting, transforming himself physically and becoming a better athlete. If he hadn’t done those two years with Daniel Bernhardt, this movie wouldn’t have been in the right place to shoot.”

When it came time to start shooting, the filmmakers hired stunt coordinator GREG REMENTER, who had most recently worked alongside Leitch and McCormick as the stunt coordinator on Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. “Greg was the right person for Nobody because the action needed a grounded-ness and a grittiness, which Greg is very good at,” McCormick says. “There’s a version of this movie that could be super-heightened and super Kung Fu, but that’s not the version of the film Ilya was making. To develop the action accordingly is a skill, and it’s one that Greg does incredibly well.”

Like every other film he does, Leitch wanted to make the stunts as big as they could. “Greg and the team choreographed the sequences in multiple different ways, which created big menus of ideas that we were able to chop up,” Leitch says. “Greg and the team do a great job and it makes it easy for me, as a producer, to either give holistic notes or specific notes. Greg and I speak the same language of martial arts and choreography, so it’s easy for us to go back and forth on notes.” Naishuller had a unique vision for the character that he explained to Rementer. “I told Greg, ‘We’ve got to make it feel like Hutch is the wolverine,’” Naishuller says. “Not the movie, and not Hugh Jackman with the claws having a fairly easy time killing everybody. He’s like an actual animal wolverine.” Rementer took note of Odenkirk’s preparedness upon arriving to set. “Normally the most challenging aspect of a film is figuring out how we are going to get our lead actor to do the fights and look like an action star,” Rementer says. “For this film, that was the easiest part, because by the time I arrived, Bob was so far ahead of the game. He was already there, physically. So, it was just a matter of pushing him even further, and then we just let Bob run. What makes actions movies special nowadays is the challenge of doing something new. To me, that’s letting your actors do as much action as they feel comfortable with and we feel comfortable letting them do. What audiences see onscreen is really Bob.” For Odenkirk, his relationship to exercise has changed more than anything. “To get to a place where you truly feel the benefits of being in shape, is wonderful,” Odenkirk says. “I work out some every day now, and it’s a good, balanced workout, and it feels good, and it leaves me with more energy and I like it.”

Odenkirk wasn’t the only actor on Nobody who had the chance to work with David Leitch’s action stunt company. “It’s one of the best stunt teams in the business,” RZA says. “Getting the chance to work again with that team was comforting. They took the time to show me the moves, and from the first day I got on set, it was, ‘rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.’ I think I lost about five pounds and gained a couple of muscles working on this movie.” Michael Ironside adds: “David’s stunt guys are no bullshit. I was talking to the stunt team when I first arrived on set and I start talking all about the staircase fight scene in Atomic Blonde, without realizing, embarrassingly, that they were the exact guys who did that scene. That scene was one of the best-choreographed fight scenes I’ve ever seen. It’s incredibly difficult and technically wonderful, but it’s also audience-conscious. It allows these breaks, breathing space for the audience to take it in, think, ‘Wow.’ And then it starts again. It blew me away.” Billy MacLellan reflected on his dreams of doing stunts as a child. “Growing up in Cape Breton, I was that kid who used to watch Lee Majors on The Fall Guy, and then I would go outside and jump from spruce tree to spruce tree,” MacLellan says. “I wanted to be a stunt guy. So, to be on that set, with that stunt team…” He pauses. “You just want to do it for free. Honestly. They’re that good at what they do. They’re the real deal.”

The Bus Fight

The bus sequence is a pivotal part of the film. It’s not only the film’s first action scene, but it’s also the first time we see Hutch transform into his previous persona and demonstrate a skill set that we never knew he had. “Although Hutch is a little rusty, it’s visceral, severe and a little bit shocking to see him transform this way,” Leitch says. “In this moment, Hutch has a rush of adrenaline and confidence and we see him apply that confidence in a new way throughout the rest of the film.” After he read the script, Rementer took a couple of bus rides and took notes about things that he saw on the bus. “I looked at what people were carrying and parts of the bus that could be used for the scene,” Rementer says. “Then, I looked at some other bus fights from past films. For the most part I like to try to stay original, but I’m not against borrowing ideas if I can make them better. When it comes to fights, we’ve all seen every punch and every kick. It’s more about how we make the fights fun, emotional and memorable.” The stunt team worked closely with production designer Roger Fires to ensure the setting was movement and action-friendly. “The bus scene had to be the most impactful stunt not only because it is the first action sequence in the movie but also because of the emotional aspect behind it being Hutch’s transition,” Fires says. “We discussed what would be the most effective way to provide full freedom for Bob and his talented stunt team to create and move. We thought about cutting the bus in half to almost create the same feeling as the hallway scene in Old Boy, but in the end we decided to keep the space almost claustrophobic and move only what was necessary for the shot.

The idea was to represent Hutch’s constraints before he releases back into the world. To help the production we made all the seats easily removable and the entire floor was laid with stunt pads.” Rementer has trained in martial arts his whole life and knows that when you’re getting ready to fight, you have to get into what he calls the ‘fighter’s mentality.’ “When you train long and hard for a fight, you become hungry like a tiger in a cage,” Rementer says. “Bob had been training so long and hard before this movie that when we stepped onto the bus to shoot this fight, he almost became like a hungry tiger. He walked on that bus like he was entering the cage for his first fight. I knew right then and there that this fight was going to be special.” The filmmakers knew that the success of this scene would either make or break the film. “I knew it,” Naishuller says. “Bob knew it. Everyone knew it. The tension of getting it right hung in the air. We were all aware that Bob had prepared the hell out of it, and that he was going to be good. Except Bob. He was nervous. The stakes were high and he felt the pressure. Two years of Bob’s training came down to this night of shooting. Bob went and just killed it. Punch after punch. Take after take. The stunt team and I were elated at what we were seeing. The crew went nuts. When we wrapped that night, I got home and wrote Bob an irregularly short email. It said: ‘You’re a fucking action star.’”

Realism in Action : Building Compelling Visuals

Nobody’s production designer, Roger Fires, who served as an art director on Deadpool 2, was familiar with Naishuller’s work on Hardcore Henry and on a music video that Naishuller directed for Russian rock band Leningrad, and he was excited to get an opportunity to work with him. “When I read the script, I knew that Ilya’s approach to the film would be extremely visual,” Fires says. “From page one, the idea of a conflicted anti-hero played by an unexpected action hero like Bob Odenkirk was captivating. The characters have so many layers in such a compelling and realistic setting that it’s a dream for a designer to build that visually on screen. I put a look book together, sent it over and we clicked right away. Creatively, we were on the same page from our first conversation. We didn’t talk about his vision because he was confident that I checked all his expectation boxes. Usually a first meeting between a director and a designer is short and straight to the point, but we spent almost two hours talking. We spoke about how our approach visually was the same and how we want Nobody to impact the audience. We grew up watching action movies with our dads and we wanted to represent how that influenced us. We wanted to make the movie for them.” Naishuller agrees that he and Fires hit it off right away. “The first time I spoke with Roger over Skype, he wore his Misfits cap. As a lifelong punkrocker, I knew right there and then that we’d get along famously,” Naishuller says. “Roger was the first of the team on the ground in Winnipeg and started location scouting, sending me hundreds of photos. I wanted the city in Nobody to feel like Anytown, USA, rather than any place specific.” When envisioning the overall look and feel of the film, Fires relied on his first instinct, which was color. “I'm passionate about how you can tell a story and convey emotion through color,” Fires says.

“After breaking down the characters and their emotions through tones, I find and create motifs and map them out in a way that helps the audience connect with the story. The movie evolves with tension and conflict and non-stop action. The distinction between worlds is evident with a dramatic color progression. We start cold and get warmer in the environments as we move through the story. Pastel tones and organic textures reflect the mundane and normal life of Hutch’s world in the first act. This world of boredom is emphasized with the use of high-contrast and synthetic and bright colors, and this changes as his journey transforms in acts two and three. The more Hutch becomes conflicted, the more we introduced reflective surfaces to create the duality battle between the two sides of Hutch.” The story of Nobody takes place mainly in three distinct places: Hutch’s suburbia, the downtown industrial zone and Yulian’s underworld. Luckily for the filmmakers, shooting in Winnipeg allowed them to create sets to differentiate the locations. “Roger and I had the opportunity to build sets to directly accommodate the storyboards, allowing for specific spaces, shots and colors,” Naishuller says. “The goal was to start the film fairly gloomy and gently move to a more colorful palette as Hutch’s arc moves towards its action-packed self-fulfilment. A kind of ‘noir goes comic book’ scenario.” Fires drew inspiration from films that successfully added realism and soul to action-packed stories. “We watched films like Drive, Blue Ruin and Joker,” Fires says. “While shooting the movie, we used to say that Nobody was a character piece with action. We picked an era and approached it like Hutch’s life had stopped in the moment he decided not to be the auditor for the CIA—that being late 80s/early 90s.” The most challenging sets for Fires to tackle were Yulian’s karaoke bar and the tool and die shop where Hutch works.

“We needed to create the distinction that Hutch’s world is organic and Yulian’s world is more synthetic,” Fires says. “For Yulian’s karaoke bar, we shot at a location that was covered in wood paneling, which would represent Hutch’s world, so we needed to fully transform a working nightclub in the three days they were closed to cover all the wood walls. To do this, we created a wallpaper and marble paneling system to have everything mapped for an easy and quick assembly. Because of its footprint, we pretty much finished on the morning of the first night of shooting. The other challenge was to recreate Hutch’s tool and die shop. We visited a few shops that we could alter to our needs, but because of the nature of the choreography and the time necessary to shoot the whole act-three sequence, we opted to build one in record time to give Ilya and the stunts team time to plan.” Fires was determined to ensure that all the details in his designs were compelling, realistic and bold. He also wanted to find different ways to break clichés that have been established in action films. “During the scout to find the perfect location for Yulian’s secret operation, I came upon this wedding venue that is one of Manitoba’s first banks,” Fires says. “I couldn’t believe the possibilities and how perfect it was for what I was intending for his character. I illustrated the key story beats and how they could work in that lo