David Arquette is officially a sucker for Nick Jonas after working alongside him in The Good Half.
“I was so impressed by him, he’s such a tremendous actor,” Arquette, 52, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting the film. “I know he grew up in the entertainment business and has a ton of acting experience anyway, but to be the lead of this film and to have the subtlety that he had in his performance, it was really impressive.”
Despite their off-screen rapport, the duo plays opposing sides in the family drama, which follows Jonas’ Ren as he returns home to Cleveland after the death of his mother, Lily (Elisabeth Shue). Arquette plays Rick, Ren’s estranged stepfather — and the two find themselves at increasing odds about how to handle Lily’s funeral.
The film largely revolves around the process of grief, but it doesn’t shy away from finding the humor in the chaos — with many of Arquette and Jonas’ most tense moments being played for subtle laughs. Arquette told us that he and Jonas, 31, really tried to have “fun” with their material by leaning into the nervous energy whenever possible.
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“It’s kind of easy. Like, I’m kind of an awkward person,” Arquette joked. “I never feel comfortable in my own skin. So just sort of allowing that to live, is funny. You could just feel it on set. You can feel it in the scenes.”
Arquette has been a bonafide movie icon since the ‘90s — his career standouts are endless — and Jonas is no stranger to the spotlight himself. In addition to appearing in countless TV shows and films, he’s a music superstar alongside his brothers, causing a definite fervor for certain members of Arquette’s family.
“I know my daughter, Coco, was excited for me to be doing this project. [She] was definitely excited,” Arquette teased of the 20-year-old, whom he shares with ex-wife Courteney Cox. And while his younger children — Charlie West, 10, and Augustus, 7, whom he shares with wife Christina McLarty — might be too little to register Jonas’ star power, Arquette’s wife was a whole different story.
“My wife was extremely excited,” he said, laughing. “She kind of fell into that whole world.”
Arquette, for his part, was just thrilled to be playing a part that strayed from the lovable, selfless characters he often portrays. The Scream star said that he enjoyed exploring Rick’s unlikability — especially as someone who considers themselves a “people pleaser” in real life.
“It’s fun to dive into that and not really take other people’s feelings into consideration,” he quipped, noting that in real life, he’s someone who will offer the shirt off his own back if asked. “But to be able to play a character who’s self-centered even though those kids have lost their mother … He doesn’t really understand the depth of that experience. And he kind of, makes it all about him, strangely enough.”
For Arquette, the film’s ability to lean into the discomfort of grief is what drew him to the role in the first place. Written by Brett Ryland and directed by Robert Schwartzman, Arquette said there was a “unique voice” to the story that had “real truth” and humor.
“I love the awkwardness of the whole experience,” he said of the unwieldy time that comes after loss. “I mean, people are saying, ‘How you doing?’ and stuff like that, [and you’re like], ‘Well, you know, it’s the worst time of my life.’ Those moments.”
Arquette is fully aware that there are plenty of explosive blockbusters to watch this summer — ones full of twisters, serial killers and superheroes – but believes there is still space for a quieter story about an inevitable, universal human experience.
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“It’s funny to think that this film might be the lighter of the fair than you could go see during the summer season, but our director, Rob, just did such a wonderful job of crafting a film that has real heart, that has real comedic elements despite the pain that Nick’s character is going through,” he told Us. “I found it watching it, that it has an element of healing to it. That we’re all kind of united in that form of grief and that we all have to experience it at some point. And, you know, that should all be able to laugh at it to a certain extent.”
The Good Half is in theaters nationwide July 23 and 25, with tickets available via FathomEvents.com.
