Be it his iconic role as Officer Dewey in the Scream series or his underdog career as a wrestler, there is so much that can be said about David Arquette’s long and storied career. So many stories and roles to the point where it’s impossible to dispute that he’s a true icon of the 1990s who is still beloved to this day. Above all else, however, David Arquette is not an individual who simply does things for a paycheck. In our recent interview with Arquette for his latest feature film Mob Cops, it became apparent that Arquette is unbelievable passionate about his career decisions.
Based on a true story, Mob Cops sees Arquette star as a police officer in deep with the mob, leading to one of the most notorious documented cases of institutionalized corruption in US history. During our conversation with Arquette, the actor talked at length about how he and the team behind Mob Cops found an authentic voice for the crime drama. Additionally, Arquette also shared his long history with the world of wrestling and teased what convinced him to come back for Scream 7.
‘Mob Cobs’ Was the Perfect Opportunity for David Arquette To Explore One of His Favorite Genres

COLLIDER: It’s great to see you play another cop in a film again, though the character you’re playing here is about as different from someone like Dewey Riley as he could possibly be. I’d love to hear more about how you first became involved with Mob Cops and what attracted you to this particular character.
DAVID ARQUETTE: It’s a fascinating story to me. Two of the most corrupt cops in NYPD history. So, Danny Abeckaser, people call him Danny A. He’s an amazing director and friend, and he’s also an actor. He’s wonderful in this movie. He loves mob movies. He loves the whole world. He put together this group of actors that are just so wonderful, like Jeremy Luke, who plays the other crooked cop, and there’s a group of tremendous actors. They’re all very authentic. They know these guys. They’ve been around this world, so I learned a lot just studying them and being around them.
My character’s sort of understated. I get to play it down. He’s a Vietnam vet who’s a decorated police officer, and they really take this turn and start working for the mob and killing for the mob. It was an interesting road to walk. In my character’s mind, he was actually not a bad guy. He’s taking some bad guys off the street, he’s providing for his family, he’s not having to go through the whole court process where maybe these guys would get off, or this or that. So, he didn’t see himself as doing bad stuff. His anxiety came from being discovered, being revealed as a crooked cop, because he was decorated, and it really meant a lot to him. He’s just an upstanding member of his community, so for him to be exposed was really his fear.
His partner just wanted fame. He ended up being an actor. He went on talk shows, wrote a book, all of this stuff, and it was his worst nightmare. The funny thing is, they were really tight. They lived in the same community when they moved to Las Vegas. Their families grew up with each other. They knew each other really well and were really friends. So, that was an interesting sort of dynamic.
Fascinating. You mentioned that true story, and this is a fascinating and also just very infamous true story about one of the worst cases of corruption in history. As an actor, what does your personal approach to playing a real-life figure for a real-life story look like, as opposed to playing a more fictional one?
ARQUETTE: Well, we changed the names to protect the innocent and changed some stuff about it, obviously, but when you do characters like this, there are real people involved. My character had kids, his character had kids. It’s touchy, for sure. You’re just approaching it from an actor’s point of view; you have to believe it yourself. “Why would this person do this?” You kind of have to put the pieces together, then you have to ground it. I really grounded it in the friendships that these two had, and the desire to provide for his family, the need to get bad guys off the street. The lesser of two evils is the way he looked at it, really.
That’s a really great, nuanced answer. Speaking of real people, you also share a few scenes with Bo Dietl in this movie, who’s not only been an actor in crime stories like Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street, but is actually a former NYPD detective. I don’t know if Bo had much input on Mob Cops in a creative sense, but regardless, did having Bo there add a feeling of authenticity to the role?
ARQUETTE: Absolutely. Bo knew these guys, so you could ask him questions about how they act and how they behave. I had this one moment where I got sunglasses; I looked at it as my one character thing, the only element that you’d see that he’s kind of spent money on something. He hid his money. He didn’t flash it around, but he bought these glasses. For me personally, I was like, “He bought these glasses because, beyond being an NYPD police officer, he’d love to be in the FBI. He’d love to be a really highly decorated officer.” So there’s an element of that. But when I was wearing them, I could see that Bo Dietl was like, “Why’s he wearing these glasses?” You know what I mean? [Laughs] What I mean is, I could see that it bugged him that a New York police officer would wear sunglasses. You could maybe see that with LA, but not NYPD. I think there was also a little thing about the difference between cops and feds. He’s kind of looking at me different. It was funny to wear them to see his reaction, but it was also great to be able to ask him what these guys were like. I learned a lot from Bo and Joey Russo, another amazing actor in it. He’s super authentic and really knows that world. Lorenzo [Antonucci] and Danny, all of them grew up in this sort of environment, so it really made it feel real.
David Arquette Reflects on His Legacy of Being a Wrestler After Making ‘You Cannot Kill David Arquette’

Image via Neon

In addition to acting, you’ve also had a significant career in wrestling, as chronicled by the incredible You Cannot Kill David Arquette, a documentary I absolutely love. You were one of the biggest stars to not only get involved with pro wrestling but to really get physical and compete. When you see wrestling now, do you feel like you’ve become something of a trailblazer?
ARQUETTE: [Laughs] I don’t know. I’ve never seen myself as a trailblazer. I do things that I love, that I have a passion for, that I want to spend my time working hard at. That’s how I ended up working on Bozo the Clown and doing stuff like that. But I always try to follow the things that I love, and they always lead you on an adventure to places with people that also love these things. I love the mob movies; that’s why I wanted to do a mob movie. I love Westerns; that’s why I love doing Westerns. Whenever you can do things like that, you find yourself in this world, and then you’re on a horse, shooting guns. There are just cool elements throughout that make the things you love a part of your life. So that’s, for me, the goal.
Ahead of His Surprising ‘Scream 7’ Return, David Arquette Praises Writer and Director Kevin Williamson

I couldn’t let you go without asking you at least one Scream question. I had to do it. We’ve heard you’re coming back for Scream 7, despite Dewey’s seemingly definitive end in the fifth movie. I’m almost certain there’s absolutely nothing you can tell me about it, but if you are able to tell me one thing, I’d be fascinated to hear what helped you decide that now is the time to come back to this series that has blossomed and become this huge, beloved franchise.
ARQUETTE: I love playing the role of Dewey, and I’d do anything for the fans. I love the relationship it has with the fans. Working with Kevin Williamson as a director was really amazing. He’s just so obviously created this whole world, and to be able to see him have the opportunity to do that is really touching.
Mob Cops is available now in theaters and on VOD.

Mob Cops

Release Date

April 25, 2025

Runtime

87 Minutes

Director

Danny A. Abeckaser

Writers

Kosta Kondilopoulos

Producers

Kyle Stefanski