VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: David Arquette Reflects On His Experience With Nick Jonas In ‘The Good Half’

Actor David Arquette delved into experience making his new film The Good Half in his new uInterview.

The Good Half follows an emotionally distant writer (played by Nick Jonas) who returns to his hometown of Cleveland for his mother’s funeral after he spent years avoiding his sister (Brittany Snow), father (Matt Walsh) and untrustworthy step-father (Arquette). While home, he starts a new relationship with an energetic stranger (Alexandra Shipp) who helps him realize he can’t avoid conflict forever.

Arquette discussed his process when he chooses a film to work on. “It always starts with the script,” he told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “It always starts with the character. You know, if you feel like you could do a good job with the character, you have trust in the script and the fellow cast that they’re putting together, the director—you kind of put all these pieces together.”

He continued, “It’s hard sometimes because you never know with a small or independent film if there’s a big action sequence if they’re going to be able to afford it in the long run. So you have to read scripts in a certain way to make sure they’ll be able to pull it off. But I had great confidence in this one, it was a really funny role, it was a different role for me.”

He explored his approach to playing a character. Arquette explained, “Well you want to be interesting in general, I mean you want to be real. That’s the whole goal in all of it, be believable, be real, be grounded, even if it’s an over-the-top character. But for him, you know when I read it I was like, ‘Oh this guy’s a complete narcissist,’ he’s putting his needs and wants before the two children that have just lost their mother. For me, it was almost the opposite what I would do. So if I would want to hug them or comfort them, he would be more standoffish. If someone said something that might have been witty or funny, he would kind of take it personally.”

Arquette reflected on the film’s cast. “Nick Jonas is just really tremendous in this, he does a really wonderful job of being the leading man and being able to balance comedy and drama.”

Arquette mused on the meaning of the film. “I hope the audience understands, if they’re going through some experience, or have gone through this in the past, to really allow themselves to embrace dealing with some of these things.”

He elaborated, “Sometimes when you’re going through such a heightened experience if you’re the type of person that likes control… you might be trying to control everything and it’s a moment in time where you can’t control everything and you just have to understand that. And also if you’re dealing with someone like that, then you can give them some grace.”

The Good Half is in theaters now.