Biography
Born September 8, 1971, to a family of entertainers, David Arquette is the youngest brother of actors
Rosanna Arquette,
Patricia Arquette, and
Alexis Arquette, and the son of veteran bit-part actor
Lewis Arquette. During David's early years, the family lived on a California commune, but moved to Los Angeles so that Rosanna could pursue an acting career. David first brought his quirky, eccentric persona to the small screen in 1989, with a television adaptation of the film
The Outsiders. He had his big screen debut in 1992, when he performed in a number of films, including
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Where the Day Takes You. Small roles in subsequent features followed, including 1994's
Airheads, but it wasn't until his turn as a bumbling deputy in
Wes Craven's
Scream (1996) that he began to receive wider recognition. The same year, his visibility was further increased by a secondary role in
Beautiful Girls and his turn as a struggling prostitute in
Johns.
1997 brought with it
Scream's highly successful sequel, the accurately titled
Scream 2. In addition, it brought Dream With Fishes, a film that Arquette both acted in and co-produced. 1999 was a busy year for the actor, signaling that Hollywood was finding more room to accommodate his offbeat talent. In addition to his recurring spot in a series of creepy AT&T commercials, Arquette had major roles in three movies, the
Drew Barrymore romantic comedy
Never Been Kissed,
Muppets From Space, and
Antonia Bird's much maligned
Ravenous. Arquette further increased his Hollywood visibility with his marriage to Courteney Cox, whom he wed in April 1999. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide