Normal’s Henry Winkler & Jess McLeod Talk Action Movie’s Wild Scenes | Interview
ComingSoon editor-in-chief Tyler Treese spoke with Normal stars Henry Winkler and Jess McLeod about the new action movie. The duo discussed the film’s wild shootout, capturing a Midwest spirit, and more. Magnolia Pictures will release the film in theaters on April 17, 2026.
“For Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a dark secret is inadvertently exposed, and Ulysses soon discovers that the town is anything but its namesake,” says the synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Henry, one of the elements of Normal that really impressed me was how well it captures the feeling of a small Midwest town. You’re the mayor of it in the film. What did you look to draw from for your character to kind of capture that Midwest tinge?
Henry Winkler: You know, Tyler, I am very lucky. One of my jobs is speaking publicly, and so I have been all over America. I have visited Normal, the real Normal, and I’ve spoken there. So, I walk around the town wherever I am in order to get the feel, and Ben [Wheatley] and Bob [Odenkirk] truly created a town that you could put anywhere in America … and it was shot in Winnipeg.
Jess McLeod: So true [laughs].
That’s so special that you’ve actually been to Normal; that’s a really cool detail.
Jess, your character of Alex has one of the more interesting arcs throughout the film. What really attracted you to this role when you were reading the script?
Jess McLeod: I think I was just surprised to find a character like this in a script like this. I feel like I was really excited by the ways that they were playing with the genre and reinventing it in some ways. I thought that was really fun. I did a lot of research about trans people in the American military, and I watched this really great documentary called Trans Military. It’s a piece of representation that I haven’t seen a lot of, and I thought that was really exciting.
Henry, my favorite show of all time is Arrested Development, which you were so great in, and you were also amazing in Barry. You’re also having a lot of fun in Normal. How fulfilling has it been, especially in the 2000s, to get to show these different sides of your acting and to still be doing some of the best work of your career decades in?
Henry Winkler: First of all, I am so touched that you asked that question because I was eight and I dreamt of being an actor, and I am 80 right now, and I am still at the table. I don’t know if my body can hold all of my gratitude that I get to do this, what I dreamt of doing, and I think I’m getting better. That’s all I have to say.
I love it. That’s a perfect answer. You’ve entertained us for so long, and you continue to do so.
Jess, this film, the last act is one of the wildest action scenes I’ve seen. There are so many moving parts. How was it filming that scene? It had to be controlled chaos.
Jess McLeod: So, mind you, I’ve not done a movie like this ever in my life. Mind you, I’ve not ever shot a gun or held one even, so I am operating in a state of fear rarely seen. I am in a state of awe. The stunt team was so amazing, and they really took care of me. But it was a lot.
There was two units happening in the same location. Bob’s shooting in the kitchen. We’re shooting in this restaurant. I am having to slide and eject the mag from my… like, girl, I can’t stress enough. I was stressed, but it turned out really well, and they edited it beautifully. But the vibe for that whole week, that took a week to shoot that sequence… whew. Wild, really wild stuff. Team did such a good job.
Yeah. It all turned out amazing.
Winkler: Amazing things that you find when you do a horror movie or an action movie, you realize there are so many more little cuts that you’ve got to shoot in order to bring it all together to make it explosive than when you’re doing just a normal rom-com or something.
McLeod: Totally, and I feel like Ben is such an incredible filmmaker. He’s so specific about everything, and he was running two units in one location like it was nothing. Like, I’m watching this man go from monitor to monitor. It’s like one will cut, he goes right over to the other one, they’re editing live on set, he’s going to the editor, and he’s like, “Oh, I think we need to pick this.” Like, his mind is working at a rare level. I just have never seen any director do what he did. And yeah, you’re so right. There’s just so many moving pieces to keep in mind, and that sequence is incredible. There are so many shots in that sequence. I couldn’t believe it. Yeah.
Thanks to Henry Winkler and Jess McLeod for taking the time to talk about Normal.
Source: Comingsoon.net