Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
'That's a hell of a title': Watch 'Cocaine Bear' stars react to hearing film's name and premise
"What the hell is this?," star Alden Ehrenreich wondered upon hearing the film's title.
If you're wondering what the cast of Cocaine Bear was thinking when they found out the horror-comedy film's title and premise, well, it's probably not much different than what was going through your own head. "I just remember thinking, ‘That’s a hell of a title,'" O'Shea Jackson Jr., who played Daveed, said in a new behind-the-scenes video on the making of Cocaine Bear.
Some were admittedly confused. “I really didn’t think that it had anything to with cocaine or a bear," revealed Isiah Whitlock Jr., who portrays Bob, a detective who's on the case when a drug smuggler parachutes out of a plane with a bag full of cocaine and dies after a mishap, with his body landing in Tennessee. Alden Ehrenreich (Eddie) was equally perplexed. "What the hell is this?," he wondered.
Watch the Cocaine Bear cast talk about their initial reactions in this behind-the-scenes video:
The Universal Pictures film that was released earlier this year is loosely based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1985, when a black bear overdosed on cocaine that was dropped in Tennessee by drug smugglers. While the real bear tragically died, the movie lets its title character get a little revenge on humankind by way of a crazy killing spree.
The wacky direction and title had most of the cast instantly on board. “I was immediately intrigued as to a film named Cocaine Bear," Matthew Rhys, who plays the drug smuggler, said in the new clip. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who portrays wildlife activist Peter, said, “From page three, I hadn’t even gotten to my character yet, I was like, 'Oh, I’m doing this movie.'" Even young Christian Convery, who stars as a little boy trying to escape the bear in the forest, knew what he was dealing with. "There was a bear on fricken’ cocaine!," he marveled.
And Aaron Holliday, who plays troublemaker Stache, didn't mince words, saying, “When I read the character, I had that moment of — I think the exact words were, ‘F**k yeah!’” A second video that Universal Pictures recently put out focuses on director Elizabeth Banks' work. “I have been a fan of Elizabeth for a long time," Jackson Jr. said. "She’s got her director hat on on this one. I was bummed that I couldn’t do a scene with Elizabeth."
Watch the stars of Cocaine Bear speak about working with director Elizabeth Banks:
Kristofer Hivju, who portrayed hiker Olaf, said of the Banks, "She’s so, so funny. And she loves improvisation. And she has this unique feel of what is funny and what is true.” Others praised the director's ability to know and ask for exactly what she needed from her cast. "If she says, ‘Look, I need a little bit more of this,' I can trust that she’s gonna put me on the right track," Whitlock Jr. explained.
“She is so meticulous on what she wants and so explicit on what she wants," Holliday added. And Margo Martindale, who plays park ranger Liz, also respected Banks' ability to make clear what she needs. “I think she sees it all in her head really well, that’s her gift," Martindale said.
Haven't seen Cocaine Bear yet, or want to relive the hilarious horror? You can find it streaming now on Peacock!
