David Arquette says Wes Craven encouraged him to date Courteney Cox

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David Arquette has said that Scream director Wes Craven encouraged him to date his co-star and future wife, Courteney Cox.

Arquette and Cox met on the set of Scream where they played a couple before becoming romantically involved in real life.

In an interview with People, Arquette has revealed that Craven was instrumental in him asking Cox on a date: “Wes had a real impact. [He was] like, ‘David, you know she likes you and you should really get your stuff together.’ He gave me a real man-to-man talk and that had an impact on the course of my life.”

Arquette also reminisced about meeting Cox for the first time, at which point she was already famous for her role as Monica on Friends: “I was a fan of hers.”

He also talked about the rest of the cast, which included Neve Campbell and Drew Barrymore, saying: “Everybody was really nice, so it was a great time.”

Arquette and Cox later married in 2009 before separating in 2010 and divorcing in 2013. They have one child together.

Arquette, Cox and Campbell have all returned for the upcoming fifth entry in the franchise, which is also called Scream.

Cox talked about returning to the series after more than a decade: “I was just really excited to play a character that was really, I guess, bitchy and over the top and yet grounded in some ways, Because Monica’s so sweet.”

She added: “I love the fact that it’s had so much humor in it and so scary at the same time. When you scream, it is infectious, just like laughter. So when you watch one of these fell, you’re just petrified.”