David Arquette has revealed the role he played that he was “not suited for” – to the point that the job turned into a “disaster”.
Horror fans love the 52-year-old actor for his role as bumbling cop Dewey Riley in the Scream franchise, which he has been a part of since its first installment in 1996.
Not all of his career moves have brought him such a warm response, however, and one in particular brings back bad memories to this day.
“I mean, I’ve played roles that weren’t really right for me, too,” said David, the ex-husband of Friends star Courteney Cox.
Now she has revealed which job gave her such a ‘painful, painful’ experience in a new interview with Too Fab.
David Arquette has revealed the role he played that he was “not suited for” to the point that the job turned into a “disaster”; pictured last month in New York
“Sherlock Holmes. I played Sherlock Holmes once and it was a disaster,” said David, who portrayed the fictional detective on stage in 2015.
David was involved in director Andrew Shaver’s production of the late playwright and magician Greg Kramer’s 2013 comedy Sherlock Holmes.
Her co-stars included Big Time Rush star James Maslow as Dr. Watson and The Secret Like The American Teenager actress Renee Olstead as Lady Irene St. John.
The show originally premiered in 2013 with This Is The End actor Jay Baruchel playing a goofy, reimagined version of Arthur Conan Doyle’s character.
Two years later, David took on the role and toured the United States and Canada, receiving a dismissive response from critics on both sides of the border.
“Arquette’s idea of how to be British is like your middle-aged uncle strutting around in an easy-going style after having had a few too many Cosmopolitans,” he mocked. Toronto Star.
“Arquette is a real actor, but this is not his role and he seems to know it very well,” the actor said. Chicago Tribunedescribing the show as “a total disaster.”
Looking back on that professional mishap, David reflects: “I learned a lot from it, but it was a very, very painful experience.”
While promoting his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in 2015, he admitted that he might initially seem “an odd choice” for the role.
![David Arquette reveals a "disastrous" role he "wasn't prepared for": "It was a painful experience, very painful" 7 1723777224 607 David Arquette reveals a disastrous role he wasnt prepared for](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1723777224_607_David-Arquette-reveals-a-disastrous-role-he-wasnt-prepared-for.jpeg.webp)
“Sherlock Holmes. I played Sherlock Holmes once and it was a disaster,” said David, who played the fictional detective on stage in 2015 (pictured)
![David Arquette reveals a "disastrous" role he "wasn't prepared for": "It was a painful experience, very painful" 9 Her co-stars included Big Time Rush star James Maslow as Dr. Watson (right) and The Secret Love Of The American Teenager actress Renee Olstead as Lady Irene St. John (left).](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1723777224_501_David-Arquette-reveals-a-disastrous-role-he-wasnt-prepared-for.jpeg.webp)
Her co-stars included Big Time Rush star James Maslow as Dr. Watson (right) and The Secret Love Of The American Teenager actress Renee Olstead as Lady Irene St. John (left).
![David Arquette reveals a "disastrous" role he "wasn't prepared for": "It was a painful experience, very painful" 11 Two years later, David took on the role and toured the United States and Canada, receiving a dismissive response from critics on both sides of the border.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1723777225_643_David-Arquette-reveals-a-disastrous-role-he-wasnt-prepared-for.jpeg.webp)
Two years later, David took on the role and toured the United States and Canada, receiving a dismissive response from critics on both sides of the border.
![David Arquette reveals a "disastrous" role he "wasn't prepared for": "It was a painful experience, very painful" 13 The 52-year-old actor is beloved by horror fans as bumbling cop Dewey Riley in the Scream franchise, which he has been a part of since 1996; pictured in Scream 4 in 2011.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1723777226_327_David-Arquette-reveals-a-disastrous-role-he-wasnt-prepared-for.jpeg.webp)
The 52-year-old actor is beloved by horror fans as bumbling cop Dewey Riley in the Scream franchise, which he has been a part of since 1996; pictured in Scream 4 in 2011.
![David Arquette reveals a "disastrous" role he "wasn't prepared for": "It was a painful experience, very painful" 15 David is photographed on Tuesday attending the Los Angeles premiere of his new film The Good Half, in which he appears alongside Nick Jonas.](https://whatsnew2day.com/wp-content/uploads/cwv-webp-images/2024/08/1723777226_892_David-Arquette-reveals-a-disastrous-role-he-wasnt-prepared-for.jpeg.webp)
David is photographed on Tuesday attending the Los Angeles premiere of his new film The Good Half, in which he appears alongside Nick Jonas.
However, he noted that the version of the detective in the play is “strange” and “probably a little bit lighter than what a lot of people interpret.”
David explained: “He laughs a lot, he finds humour in things. He’s still the eccentric, wild-thinking type, very quick-witted, but maybe he’s not as clever as some of the other Sherlock Holmes,” via CBC.
“He’s not necessarily the smartest man in the room, but in the play he’s the smartest of all the fools, is what I like to say.”
Meanwhile, David, who has dyslexia, also confessed that he “thought I was losing my mind” just before the previews because of all the lines he had to memorise.
“I was like, ‘This is too hard, I don’t think I can handle this. There’s too much dialogue.’ It’s like two hours of dialogue, so it’s a lot,” she said.
“But once we got into a rhythm, then it really started to work, and when you get comfortable with it, then you can have fun.”