Alden Ehrenreich grew up in Southern California just a few blocks from Ray Liotta and frequently ran into the “Goodfellas” actor while out and about. You can only imagine how excited Ehrenreich was to play his son in a movie years later, one that also starred a high bear.
In their dark comedy “Cocaine Bear,” in which Liotta played one of his final parts, Ehrenreich, 33, said of the discussion: “It was great to kind of talk about it” (in and available on Apple TV, Vudu and Amazon). He was quite kind. Working with him was a really unique chance, and I’m now even more appreciative of it.
While filming “Dangerous Waters” in the Dominican Republic last May, Liotta passed away in his sleep. The 67-year-old actor, who revived a baseball legend in “Field of Dreams” and rose to fame for his tough guy and gangster roles, had just wrapped up filming “Cocaine Bear” in which he played Syd, a St. Louis drug lord who travels to Georgia to retrieve some stolen Colombian cocaine discovered by a ravenous black bear.
“We shared a wonderful hug, and he expressed great pride in the film. He laughed at what it had developed, according to Banks. That’s how Ray comes to mind when I think of him: Hugging me.
Additionally, according to Banks, Ehrenreich’s character Eddie wants to leave the family drug operation, and Liotta “liked” him. One of my favourite things was that. He approached me and said, “That kid’s good,” which made me quite thrilled.
Ehrenreich was thrilled to work with Liotta in a limited number of situations. “I grew up watching him, but you get to see the emotion that comes out on film personally. When Ehrenreich’s mother saw “Field of Dreams” while she was expecting her son, she thought the director of the movie, Phil Alden Robinson, would be a good name for her son.
It was “simply bizarre,” according to “Cocaine Bear” screenwriter Jimmy Warden, to see Liotta cast as Syd. “First of all, I don’t trust them. It never truly sinks in. Once the contract was finalised, I thought, “OK, maybe.” Then he appears, watching over the child in a ball pit—sort of a fun-zone setting—while wearing this ridiculous wig. And he works so hard and is so depressed.
For his coworkers, Liotta’s enthusiasm was contagious, says Warden. By the time filming concluded, he considered them as “his family. It was absurd. Although it makes me very sad, I also feel incredibly fortunate to have had a small role in such a tremendous career.
