Scream Star David Arquette Opens Up on Working With Ex-Wife Courteney Cox

The Scream franchise is returning for its fifth installment in January, and that means the franchise’s core trio are finally getting back together for another terrifying adventure. Neve Campbell is once again taking on the role of Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox is returning to play Gale Weathers, and David Arquette is reprising the role of Dewey Riley. Gale and Dewey have endured a complicated relationship in the years since the first Scream, one that shares some similarities to the actors who play them. Cox and Arquette met on the set of Scream, got married to one another, and eventually made the decision to get divorced around the time of Scream 4. They’re now working alongside each other once again on the fifth Scream, but the time they spend on set together doesn’t seem to be as awkward as some people may think.

Arquette recently spoke with Total Film magazine about the upcoming Scream 5 and he discussed his working relationship with Cox. They remain involved in each other’s lives as they continue to raise a teenager, and Arquette is more than complimentary in how they work together in that regard, calling Cox “a great co-parent.” He went on to say that their existing relationship makes everything between Gale and Dewey feel more authentic, because the actors share a bond that would be impossible to fabricate.

“I always love working with Courteney,” Arquette explained. “There’s an intangible quality of having a relationship with somebody, and then being able to act with them, that you kind of can’t act. It’s like the Everly Brothers singing harmonies – there’s a real beauty to the relationship that you can’t really fake.”

A major reason why Arquette and Cox are able to continue working on this franchise together is the enduring power of the Ghostface killer. The mask has become one of the most iconic images in horror history over the last 25 years.

“Anytime you see Ghostface, it’s always something … just as a horror film lover myself, there’s something just incredible about the whole being part of that. Seeing the mask on Halloween, I just love that,” Arquette shared during the press event in which ComicBook.com attended. “That he’s become such an iconic figure within the whole horror genre. It’s been an emotional experience for me. I’ve thought about [original director] Wes [Craven] quite a bit, really talk to him in my head, said personal little prayers, just feeling his energy around, really. It’s a new movie, it’s a new movie that honors the past films, but a lot has happened since even the last one. I think they incorporate all of that. I think they incorporate aspects of our world now and what we’ve all experienced and the evolution of the internet and the evolution of horror films in general. I think it’s gonna be really exciting. I think they just ramped up all … They learned from what came before and expanded it in a really brilliant way.” 

Are you excited for the return of Dewey, Gale, Sidney, and Ghostface this January? Let us know in the comments!