DAVID ARQUETTE It's All About BALANCE

The Scream alum shares thoughts about his career, family and making a difference

- Susan Hornik

Affable Deputy Sheriff Dewey Riley wasn’t supposed to survive the 1996 horror-comedy Scream, but a last-minute script change saved the character’s life and allowed the actor who played him, David Arquette, to return to the Scream franchise for four popular sequels. “When you do something that connects with the audience, there’s nothing like it,” David, 51, tells Closer. “It’s why we do this. We try to live these different lives and tell these different stories. It’s a wonderful way that people can escape or learn something or feel something.”

David’s still taking viewers to new places and making them think. His most recent film, On Sacred Ground, which premiered Jan. 13, is based on the true story of the creation of and controversy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline, which runs through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. 

You play an oil company executive in On Sacred Ground. It sounds like you might be playing a bad guy?

Maybe. Some of the time, the bad guys don’t even know they’re bad guys!

What was the filming like?

It was really quick. It’s a small indie film with a lot of heart. My character is ex-military, just trying to make a living, but he’s working for “Big Oil” and clearly has an agenda.

Is it true that you have a personal connection to the 2016 protests at Standing Rock?