Behind the Production of action/thriller movie Nobody

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.  Nobody is directed by filmmaker Ilya Naishuller, from a script by Derek Kolstad.  Bob Odenkirk stars as Hutch Mansell and co-stars Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s father and musician-actor RZA as Hutch’s brother, whose own hidden talents aid Hutch in his quest for vengeance.

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.”

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 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.”

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.  Naishuller comments “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.”

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.”

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. 

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.  “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.”

Nobody is produced by Kelly McCormick p.g.a, David Leitch p.g.a., Braden Aftergood p.g.a., Bob Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero. It is written by Derek Kolstad and directed by Ilya Naishuller.  The action/thriller film is in theaters now and will be on demand on April 16, 2021.