Social Media Helped Jesse Tyler Ferguson Land His Role

According to Jesse Tyler Ferguson, he and Elizabeth Banks have been friends for around 20 years. Still, he was surprised when he, seemingly out of the blue, got a phone call from her. "She was like, 'You said you wanted to [do the movie], let's talk about it.' I was like, 'Justin must have gotten into my social media!'" Ferguson continued.

Ferguson isn't immediately recognizable in "Cocaine Bear," which can in part be chalked up to the long hair, the mustache, the bandanna, and the accent. But when all is said and done, he's clearly having a very good time playing the role of the ill-fated wildlife activist, Peter. "Cocaine Bear" was Ferguson's first film role since 2016's "Ice Age: Collision Course."

In an interview with Time magazine, Banks said that casting "Cocaine Bear" was both a joy and a challenge. Apparently, Ferguson wasn't the only actor who approached her about being in the movie. Matthew Rhys, who has also known Banks for around 20 years, texted her after his "The Americans" co-star Keri Russell had been cast, asking if he could play real-life drug runner Andrew Thornton. "I immediately was like, 'You don't have to sell me, you're solving a huge problem for me.' I wanted this character to be a cameo. I wanted a known actor to do it so that you wouldn't know he wasn't going to make it through the movie."