David Arquette’s latest project features a character unlike anything he’s ever played before.
“It’s a different kind of type of character that I get to play, where he’s a little more serious but there’s still some humor involved,” Arquette, 54, told stand-up comedian and host Chanel Omari on a recent episode of Omari’s podcast “Chanel in the City” on iHeartRadio of his “serious” character in the new film, The Perfect Gamble.
“He’s scrambling like he’s just trying to stay above water and all these things are going wrong and he’s just trying to make it all work, and you kind of see it all come together,” the Scream actor continued. “There’s a lot of action and it’s fun.”
The film, which hit theaters and streaming on November 14, is directed by and stars Danny A. Abeckaser, alongside Arquette and Quentin Tarantino’s wife, Daniella Pick Tarantino, in her first leading role.
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The film follows prominent bookies Charlie (Arquette) and Felix (Abeckaser) after they’re busted for running an illegal sports betting operation. After they serve time in jail, they decide to go to the country of Georgia to open an underground casino. Everything seems to be going fine until the Russian mob enters the picture and trouble soon follows. While in Georgia, Charlie meets Sonia (Pick) and they fall for each other. Unfortunately, as time goes on, Charlie doesn’t know if he can trust Sonia or Felix anymore.
The Perfect Gamble reunites Arquette with his longtime friend and collaborator Abeckaser, 66, who he’s worked with on several projects. This film is historic in that it is their first time sharing scenes despite their extensive history.
“There’s a certain like secondhand and comfortable nature that you have with friends that you’ve known for years,” Arquette told Omari on the popular podcast. “I’ve known him since, you know, like the early nineties, and so just to be able to act opposite him, I never really had that opportunity. We’re both in [the film] Mob Town, but we didn’t have any scenes with each other. So this one we really get to like have these scenes. It is just so funny and his character’s really high energy, like coming at me. My character is a little bit more reserved, and so it was a fun dynamic to play with.”
Arquette, who comes from a famous acting family, has four siblings, Patricia, 57, Rosanna, 66, Richmond, 62 and Alexis, who died in 2016 at age 47. Their parents Lewis Arquette and Brenda Denaut were notable actors as well. His advice to younger or up-and-coming actors is to embrace rejection and stop comparing oneself to others.
“You can’t compare yourself to anyone, and you can’t be jealous of anyone else’s success. Those are both kind of recipes for disaster,” Arquette said on “Chanel in the City.” “It’s a challenging business because there’s constant rejection within it, and you have to continue to believe in yourself. You have to continue to go out there and you get to continue to get doors slammed in your face and then sometimes they just open up, and then when you go through, sometimes those doors just become way more than you ever expected. So it’s just a matter of believing in yourself, continuing not beating yourself up, continuing at the grind and continuing to work.”
With Scream 7, set to hit theaters on February 27, 2026, fans were excited to see that Neve Campbell and Arquette were returning to reprise their roles in the iconic horror franchise. Though there is some confusion among fans regarding what Arquette’s role will look like since his character Dewey was killed off in the fifth film. Arquette said he’s unable to reveal anything, but he’s “so happy to be back as part of the Scream family.”
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Arquette reflected on his various roles throughout his career to Omari, noting the importance of the Scream franchise to him and that his “coolest role” was as Dude Delaney in Robert Rodriguez‘s 1994 film Roadracers.
“I got to work with Robert Rodriguez on a film called Roadracers. That really was as far as cool goes,” Arquette told Omari. “But Dewey’s really … I mean, Wes Craven changed my life in such a huge way personally, like was such an inspiration and mentor. That really was, I’d say the one film that had the biggest impact in my mind.”
Arquette is married to Christina McLarty, who he wed in 2015. The couple share two sons: Charlie West, 11, and Augustus Alexis, 8. He was previously married to Courteney Cox from 1999 to 2013. The two share daughter Coco Riley Arquette, 21. Regarding balancing fatherhood, fame and new projects, Arquette said he feels “very fortunate.”
“I mean outside of doing the work, and you know sometimes there’s long nights and you still have to wake up and drive your kids to school. It’s all a balancing act,” Arquette said. “It’s not easy being a parent. There’s tantrums, and there’s all these activities … people you have to deal with and all the stuff that comes with it. [I’m] just trying to roll with it.”
“I mean I [try] more and more to not take things too heavy or serious. It’ll all be all right.” He continued, “You just keep on keep hustling.”
