David Arquette Teases Scream 7 Return, Talks New Movie Mob Cops

David Arquette is no stranger to playing a cop, and he plays a crooked NYPD policeman in the new crime drama Mob Cops, which is based on the true story of Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito. Arquette discussed the role, his surprising personal connection, and his unexpected Scream 7 return. Released by Lionsgate, Mob Cops is now available in select theaters, on demand, and on digital.

“Kevin Connolly (Entourage), David Arquette (Scream), and Jeremy Luke (Sully) star in a thrilling crime drama about the darkest corruption case in the history of the New York City Police Department. When a retired NYPD detective writes a book about his family’s ties to the mob, it ignites a firestorm between the dirty cops working for the city’s brutal crime boss and the officers trying to bring them to justice,” says the synopsis.

Tyler Treese: You and Jeremy Luke play two crooked cops in Mob Cops, and it doesn’t get more crooked than what these two guys wind up doing. But there’s a real slippery slope when it comes to corruption because they take that oath to protect and serve, and they usually mean it when they initially come on board, but that honor just fades away over time. How was it finding the humanity in your character, Sammy, while he was doing all these awful things?

David Arquette: Absolutely. It was interesting playing a character like this. I played a lot of cops throughout the years, like for some reason I play them quite a bit, and I know a lot of cops in my life. So to sort of understand where he went… He had been to Vietnam, he’d been a cop for years. It was a really corrupt time in the NYPD’s history.

So he’s surrounded by these guys, and I just imagined him seeing all these new neighbors that he knows and all these people around the neighborhood that see him in new Cadillacs and kind of wanting some nice things for him and his family as well. And then the way I justified it in my mind as this character was that he didn’t see himself as doing anything really bad. He was getting bad guys off the street without having to go through the judicial system.

He was just kind of taking it into his own hands and, you know, his biggest fear was being exposed and people seeing that he wasn’t this decorated police officer. That he’d been part of the mob and doing some of the dirty work for them.

I love the last act in particular because it flashes forward. We see your character at a later stage of his life, and he just wants nothing to do with fame. The other guy in real life actually became an actor when he was out of Vegas. How was it getting to show that different side later on?

It was great. I mean, Jeremy Luke plays the other cop in it, so it’s like these two crooked NYPD cops, and he’s just such a tremendous actor. And these guys were really friends. Like they knew each other. Their families hung out. Like they raised their kids together. They were really close when they moved to Las Vegas.

They moved in the same community together, so they were really tight. There’s like a odd couple element to him where one’s sort of loud and boisterous. The other one’s like a lot more quiet and just kind of a silent killer. So it was interesting to play with that, play with that dynamic and allow like Jeremy to really shine, and he’s just so tremendous in it. You take the backseat, you become the straight man. You know what I mean?

That was a really fun opportunity, and it’s really easy. He’s a wonderful actor and just a really great guy. So it’s easy to have that kind of camaraderie. But when you skip ahead, you know, his big fear was being exposed, not being recognized as this decorated police officer and getting busted, you know? He knew that the strange thing is Jeremy’s character was on Goodfellas, like all these different roles.

After we filmed this thing, Jeremy Luke sends me this clip from Lost Highway with my sister Patricia, and he’s in a scene with this guy. She’s in a scene with him. I couldn’t believe it. It was like this really strange world. So it really kind of brought it home to reality. But the truth of the matter is, there are people that were really affected by this, that really hurt families, and so we obviously changed the names to protect them. I couldn’t believe what these guys had gone through. My character, he didn’t want to get the spotlight. He didn’t like any of that stuff, and that was causing him a lot of anxiety toward the end of his life.

I also thought the core casting was so interesting because, as you mentioned, you’ve played a lot of cops in your career. Jeremy’s played a lot of mobsters, so it was these two different sides joining together in this very fun combination, where you’re kind of blending those roles. Instead of most of the cops, who were more upstanding, how was it playing into that darkness with your performance?

David Arquette: It was cool. I mean, Jeremy grew up in Staten Island, and Joey Russo and Bo Dietle and Lorenzo Antonucci… there are all these guys that knew this world very clearly, you know, so it was easy to sort of talk to ’em and understand like where these guys are coming from, just watch their mannerisms.

It kind of is about family. It kind of is about the sort of toxic side of men. The violent element and the tough guy element, you know, fighting, drinking, and womanizing. It’s a real wild world to be able to kind of tap into that and walk that line.

My character, though, was a family man. He really, in his mind, did it all for his family, did it all for getting these bad guys off the streets, as crazy as that sounds. But I really do believe that’s why he did it. And, you know, he had experienced war, so for him, death was just another sort of element of it all that, you know. You mess up, you get killed.

You mentioned playing a lot of cops. One of those cops is Dewey in Scream. It’s very exciting that Scream 7 is coming up. What was your initial response when you found out that they wanted you back? Because you had said your goodbyes, he was dead. That had to be a wild call to get.

It was. I mean, it was a spoiler. It wasn’t supposed to be released. It was supposed to be a surprise. I’m not really supposed to talk about it too much, but Kevin Williamson was directing and that was a real thrill. And it’s amazing to see him be able to have that opportunity and to get Neve back in this one. And Matthew, I mean… It’s exciting. I love playing the role of Dewey and will always love playing the role of Dewey.

This is the 25th anniversary of Ready to Rumble. It wasn’t screamed from the rooftops, but it’s a really fun time capsule. I know the run with WCW kind of overshadowed the film, but how do you look back purely on the movie? Because It is fun to revisit.

David Arquette: Yeah, it actually has staying power. I mean, the fact that Macho Man is in it and all these amazing wrestlers and getting to work with so many greats on that film, Oliver Platt, Scott Caan… I just really… I really loved it. I was kind of like a kid in a candy store, being a wrestling fan and being able to be a part of that movie and that it stood the test of time and it’s kind of like people still love it as a guilty pleasure kind of film and you know, then to see WrestleMania and how huge wrestling is right now, it’s just great.

I did that documentary and I learned a lot about wrestling — the independent circuit — and you go city to city and you meet the fans and you see these grandmothers that have been going for years and went with their grandmothers. You know what I mean?

So there’s something about it that’s also kind of like mobs. A little bit above the mob. Like there’s a family element, there’s a generational element. There’s this kind of highly testosterone-filled environment, and it’s interesting. You have to be super tough with just what you put your body through, the kind of grueling schedules, the pain you’re in. Yeah. So I have the utmost respect for wrestling.

Thanks to David Arquette for taking the time to talk about Mob Cops.