After star turns in johns,
Scream, and the cool Fishes,
David becomes the Arquette to watch.
I interviewed David Arquette in mid-1997
when he was in Houston to promote the film Dream With
the Fishes,
a comedy/drama about suicide, voyeurism, LSD, and nude bowling.
Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.
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This interview ran in OutSmart magazine, July 1997. |
Funnyman Cliff Arquette, known as Charley Weaver and a regular (bottom row, left) on the Hollywood Squares, was his grandfather. Lewis Arquette, his father, is an actor whose recent film is Waiting for Guffman; he will also be seen in the upcoming Life During Wartime with his son David. His mother: "I consider her an actress," Arquette says, "but nobody's hiring her." [His mother died a short time after this interview.] Actress Rosanna Arquette (Desperately Seeking Susan and the recent Gone Fishin') is his sister. Actress Patricia Arquette (Ethan Frome and True Romance; also the wife of Nicolas Cage) is another sister. Actor Alexis Arquette (Don't Do It! and Grief) is his brother. Actor Richmond Arquette (he's in both Dream With the Fishes and the upcoming Life During Wartime with David) is another brother. David Arquette, 25, is the youngest in this tribe. The Baldwin brothers and the Barrymore clan have nothing on these guys!
Though you might expect some rivalry in such a large family of celebrities, that doesn't seem to be the case here. "We all really love each other," Arquette says. "It's a difficult business. There's enough rivalry within the business, enough rejection to go around for everybody."
Did he know his grandfather very well? "No, he passed away when I was very young." Well, does he know any good stories about him? "One time when he was crossing New York in a limo, going from The Jack Paar Show to another show, he had lit up a cigar for the ride. He was also in a dress. Someone pulled up next to him, he rolled down the window, and they asked how to get to the Holland Tunnel. He said, 'It's that way, big boy!' " Most of the humor of that story is watching Arquette's vampy take on the punch line.
And since he brought up the subject of dresses, has he ever worn one? "I wore one once actually. It was a weird experience for me. I don't think I'd do it again. [To himself:] Did I ever have to wear one on film? I don't think I have." Was it Halloween? "Yeah, in school. It just wasn't for me. I can't pull it off. It's like Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot—he never made it as a woman for me."
What about a wig? "I'd put a wig on any time. It was the high heel shoes I had a problem with. If I found a cool dress, I could see that. But those high heels."
Not necessarily a natural segue from dresses to brother Alexis' rumored bisexuality, but has the rumor hurt his older brother's career? Arquette thinks not. "I know they can't stereotype him," he says. And is Arquette cool with his brother's sexuality? "Totally," he says without hesitation. "Alexis is a complete individual, and his whole life is an open book. A little while ago, I met his girlfriend, this girl who's madly in love with him, and he loves her. They're talking about buying inflatable furniture together," he quips. "Lex is a free spirit and the most creative person I've ever met. I talked to him about it once, and he said, 'You know, the only people I tell my sexuality to is if they wanna fuck me.'"
Well, that pretty much sums that up.
Recently seen in johns, in which he plays a male hustler, the tatooed Arquette is one of the new breed of straight actors who can play a gay role without caring whether people will think he's gay. "People had the opinion that johns could be a bad move," he says. "That's sort of ridiculous in a sense. The world is so close-minded, and they've just started to wake up in the past 10 years. The level of ignorance has dropped so much. It's a different world now, and I'm all about confronting shit. If somebody wants to mess with me and think I'm gay, I'll wanna kiss 'em, you know what I mean?—'Okay! Okay! Now do you really wanna kill me?' Forget 'em all, it doesn't matter."
It also doesn't matter to him if people stereotype him: He played a hustler in his first film, Where the Day Takes You. "I guess I'll have to play a call guy soon—let's open up my clientele!" he jokes. "Or a Chippendale dancer in Striptease II—not just for the ladies anymore."
Actually, in June he started filming Scream II in which he reprises his role as the deputy: "My sister's dead," Arquette deadpans, "and I'm very angry about that."
Arquette, who lives in L.A., is abound with humor and energy, the latter which he uses to play music with two of his friends in their band, Ear 2000. "It's great expression," he says. "As an actor, you always have to be other characters. On stage, you can be yourself. And it's facing my biggest fears. I'll probably have to get drunk off my ass to even go out there in front of an audience." So what kind of music do they play? He becomes very animated when he answers, "We're kinda punk rock. We're like [he screams and throws his arms around]. If it wasn't for the words, you'd think it was devil music. Not really." So it's not like Marilyn Manson? "No," Arquette says, "it's about the light, not the dark."
What about research for the dark johns? "I talked to so many homeless kids, hustlers, ex-homeless kids, huge Hollywood producers who were homeless kids. I totally researched that role, but I didn't feel like I had to get into a car with someone and endanger myself for my craft. Every kid I met, I asked, 'What was the worst thing that ever happened to you?' And just watching their faces when they tell you their stories—no matter how much of a wall they put up, they can't really hide that sort of emotion."
Too heavy for an ending to an interview laced with so much laughter? What about: If you were stranded on a desert island for one year and you could choose one celebrity to be there with you, who would it be? After discussing a few possibilities, comedy triumphs: "Phyllis Diller," Arquette says, imitating her legendary laugh. "David, open me another coconut."