VIDEO: Bob Odenkirk Talks Evolution From Comedy Writer to Ass Kicker on Stern Show Summer School
“Bob Odenkirk kicking ass is a fucking joke, and you know it’s a joke, and it makes you smile,” the “Nobody 2” star admits
August 19, 2025
Comedian, actor, and New York Times best-selling author Bob Odenkirk returned to the studio on Wednesday morning, sitting down with Stern Show Summer School hosts Jon Hein and Gary Dell’Abate to chat about his action sequel “Nobody 2,” opening Friday, Aug. 15, in theaters. While the 62-year-old funnyman best known for playing an unscrupulous lawyer on “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” might not seem like your typical action star, Bob told listeners that fact just adds to the film franchise’s charm.
“There’s a smile just in the whole thing of like, ‘Really? That’s insane. That could never happen,’” he said. “And I don’t mean the story in the movie — yes, that is patently exaggerated — I’m saying Bob Odenkirk kicking ass is a fucking joke! And you know it’s a joke, and that’s why it makes you smile.”
As Stern Show listeners may remember, Howard was a big fan of the 2021 original. To this day, Bob remains grateful for the King of All Media’s kind words. “[Howard] loved it very much, and his support of it meant a lot to me,” he said. “We got to do a sequel because the first one played so well, and part of it is because of Howard. He was a big, big name to be talking about that film.”
The entertainer’s Summer School conversation also touched upon his supporting role on FX’s “The Bear,” set in Bob’s hometown of Chicago. “[He] reminds me of a lot of guys my dad hung around with in Chicago,” Bob said of his character Uncle Lee.
He told Gary and Jon that in addition to being a location to set an award-winning drama, the Windy City was a fantastic place for an up-and-coming comedian to refine their act.
“Chicago is a great theater town, and it’s great place to start a career,” Odenkirk concluded. “You can start out … under the radar, which is certainly what I needed, and what a lot of people need, I think — a chance to fuck up and be terrible and just keep going because you love the form, and you love the thing itself, and you want to be good one day, but you’re not good yet.”
“Nobody 2” hits theaters everywhere on Friday.
