Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Bob Odenkirk, Lena Headey and Henry Winkler about their work on ‘Normal’, developing the screenplay, the characters, working with each other, the action sequences and collaborating with director Ben Wheatley.

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Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Moviefone: To begin with, Bob, can you talk about your first reaction to writer Derek Kolstad’s pitch for this movie and what were some of the elements you helped add in the development process?

Bob Odenkirk: Well, Derek had written an outline for this story, and I liked it because it was unlike a lot of action films. It had story to it. It had character to it. It was almost like three movies in one. The first film is a mystery suspense with comedy, but it’s kind of like a Lake Wobegone town, if you know that reference from Garrison Keillor’s ‘Prairie Home Companion’. It’s a small town in Minnesota. There are funny characters in there, squabbling and being stupid. Then it turns into this action film and then it has horror elements in it in the later part of the film. So, again, unlike a lot of action stories, it had texture and it had character, and some depth to the characters. That’s just different. I mean, that’s not actually something you see in a lot of action films, outlines, or scripts.

Henry Winkler stars in ‘Normal’.

MF: Henry, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and what excited you about playing a character like this?

Henry Winkler: Okay. Bob is a friend; he and Naomi is beautiful wife. We have had pasta together. He called me up, he said, “Henry, I’m doing a movie. Would you be part of it?” I didn’t have to read the script. I just said yes. I went up to Winnipeg. I played the wonderful mayor of the town. He is the interim sheriff. Little does he know there is chaos below the surface. He said, “We’re going to have a confrontation. I’m going to put you in the most comfortable position to have that confrontation. I’m going to put you in a blizzard.” That’s how it goes.

Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Lena, can you talk about your character’s role in this town and how she feels about the new Sheriff?

Lena Headey: I think Bob just wanted someone who would wear a pair of overalls. I love Moira. She’s kind of a little weird. She’s a little eaten by life and when Bob’s character rolls up, there’s a recognition between the two of them and suspicion. Yet, a kind of emotional deficit where they don’t discuss anything they truly like to discuss. So, they kind of skirt around like two snakes a little bit, figuring out who the other is.

(L to R) Brendan Fletcher, Bob Odenkirk and Reena Jolly in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Bob, what is Ulysses’ reaction to meeting Moira and discovering what is really going on in this small town?

BO: She is the smartest character in town. I mean, arguably Henry Winkler’s character is very smart too, but not really. He’s just got it an antenna for things, but Moira sees Ulysses and fully grasps the danger of Ulysses, but just the way he sees the world and the details that he sees. So, they really connect and kind of right away. They’re both people who are, in the case of the character Moira, she’s a bartender, and she talks about, you know, “I spend a lot of time listening to people, and I can pick apart what they’re saying, and I can understand the subtext, essentially.” Ulysses, as you see in the movie ‘Normal’ is also somewhat removed from the world around him and is always observing on a very high level. I think that’d be a good team if they weren’t opposing forces.

(L to R) Lena Headey and Bob Odenkirk in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Lena, what was it like working with Bob on your scenes?

LH: I was only there for a few days, and I was a little nervous because you’re going onto somebody else’s job and story and character and you’re stepping on for a few days. So, it’s always that thing of like, I hope I bring it. But Bob and Ben were both super collaborative and warm and open.

MF: Bob, what was your experience like working with Lena?

BO: I mean, one of us got a master class in acting and I think it was me. She always brings it, you can be sure of that and nobody else could have played this character, Moira, like Lena did. I mean, the depth and the texture and the smile in her performance, and the smile for the audience. They know the purpose of her character right away, which is to cut open the story and lay it bare for you.

Henry Winkler in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Henry, you mentioned you and Bob are friends and you have some intense scenes together. What was it like for you shooting those scenes with Bob?

HW: As an actor your job is to separate the friendship and the reality of where you are, what’s going on in the world, and bring it right in to telling the story, to take the audience with you so that they have a really good time. So, that was not difficult and then when you are in a scene with him, he is so present that you literally just have a conversation with this guy, the interim sheriff, who is figuring out the real problem under the town’s energy.

Ben Wheatley, director of ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Finally, Henry, as a director yourself, what did you learn from working with director Ben Wheatley and watching the way he makes movies?

HW: First, Ben is very easygoing and he’s just this big hulk of a guy. He comes up to you and he goes, “Do you think you should bring that down a little? Do you think your energy might be a little high?” Any actor who thinks they can do it without a third eye, is a liar. You need somebody who’s got the vision, and Bob and Ben knew exactly the story they wanted to tell. My job is not just to play the mayor, but my job is to fulfill their vision.

(L to R) Bob Odenkirk and Jess McLeod in ‘Normal’, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

What is the plot of ‘Normal’?

Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk) comes to the sleepy town of Normal, Minnesota to serve as the temporary sheriff after the passing of the original sheriff. A bank robbery in Normal leads Ulysses to find that a criminal underground reaches throughout the entire town.

Who is in the cast of ‘Normal’?

‘Normal’ opens in theaters on April 17th.

List of Ben Wheatley Movies:

Buy Tickets: ‘Normal’ Movie Showtimes

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