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SYFY WIRE The Tonight Show

Bob Odenkirk explains how action flick 'Nobody' is a big reason he survived his heart attack

LONG LIVE SLIPPIN' JIMMY!!!

By Josh Weiss
Bob Odenkirk in Nobody (2021)

In July of 2021, fans of Better Call Saul held their collective breath when Bob Odenkirk suffered a heart attack on the set of AMC's hit Breaking Bad prequel. The good news is that actor ended up making a full recovery and was able to finish shooting the series, whose final episode aired late last summer, perfectly wrapping up the criminal saga of the crooked lawyer known as James "Slippin' Jimmy" McGill (better known as counsel to Walter White, Saul Goodman).

Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Odenkirk openly discussed the much-publicized health scare, stating that while an ambulance didn't arrive on set for close to half an hour, he received immediate CPR attention. His ticker also benefitted from the action-heavy production on Universal Pictures' action-thriller Nobody. "I was in really good shape and that helped my heart to survive that incident," he said. "Exercise and it'll help you through everything."

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Watch Bob Odenkirk talk about how 'Nobody' helped him survive below:

Currently streaming on HBO Max, Nobody centers around Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk), an ordinary suburban father, who reveals a set of deadly skills and long-kept secrets after a home invasion causes his own family to pull away in disappointment. Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry) directed the film, working off a screenplay written by famed John Wick creator, Derek Kolstad. Odenkirk, who had gone through the scarring experience of two different break-ins, came up with the central story.

"The first time was particularly traumatic," he remarks in the official production notes. "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."

"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," adds producer Braden Aftergood. "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."

In the mood for more badass action? The first three John Wick movies can be found on Peacock.