Courteney Cox in Control
After years of being a team player in Friends, Courteney Cox is finally ready to take the lead.
By Hilary De Vries
Photo Credit: James White
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When you think of Courteney Cox, probably the last thing that comes to mind is "kooky." Composed? Sure. Organized? Judging by the neatly paper-clipped stacks of memos on her desk, her savantlike attention to her daughter Coco's schedule and the fact that her mind, and her mouth, can ricochet between two entirely different conversations at the same time, Cox seems to be, if anything, a woman who likes to be in control. In fact, the only thing about her that seems remotely kooky might be her husband of seven years, actor David Arquette, what with his loopy smile, out-there wardrobe and junk-shop collector's mind, in which the idea of owning, say, thousands of Russian nesting dolls seems perfectly normal.
"Oh, I'm kooky," Cox insists. "I'm probably more kooky than David, who is a lot more serious than people think he is. David loves structure, and I can't stand it." Cox is about to elaborate further when word comes that Arquette himself is on the line from New York. "David, do you think I'm kooky?" she asks, punching up the speakerphone.
"You're kooky in a fun way, and also a little neurotic, but in a good way. You're incredibly real, and you have an energy from being so real. You're silly."
"Okay, I'm silly, not kooky," Cox concedes. "But I'm not as controlled as it seems, although I have definite insecurities about things."
"Who doesn't?" Arquette says.
"Yeah, but you know the one thing that people don't know about me? That I am the most direct person. You never have to guess where you stand with me."
"You're honest," Arquette's disembodied voice agrees. "You're straight up."
"I'm not fake in any way. But David, how does it get me in trouble by being so real?"
"Because you wear your emotions on your sleeve, and you would rather have an uncomfortable moment than a fake moment."
Cox nods. "It's true, I would — and then I'll worry about it afterward. What I wish for myself is that I could be the kind of person who just goes, 'This is what I need,' and doesn't feel bad about it. There are actresses who say, 'I don't feel like doing that,' and throw a tantrum and don't worry about it, but I could never do that."
