David Arquette gets serious

The actor brings new depth to his oddball image.

Kooky David Arquette seldom is cast as a serious guy. The hubby of "Friends" actress Courteney Cox Arquette is best known for wearing way-too-loud clothes and camping it up in movies like summer's "Eight Legged Freaks". That makes his turn in the just-out World War II movie "The Grey Zone" all the more remarkable. Arquette, 31, portrays Hoffman, a Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz used by the Nazis to help exterminate others in exchange for a few more weeks of life. We recently spoke with Arquette from the Los Angeles home he shares with Courteney and their dogs, Ella and Hopper:

What made you take on this role?
It's something -- for one -- no one would see me or cast me in.

No kidding. What helped you to get into such a sad character?
I read a lot of firsthand accounts -- prisoners who survived and had done this work. It was a process of getting inside their heads and understanding what they had to deal with. That gave me a feeling for the despair they felt. They were zombies; they were like the living dead. [The Nazis] kept them in this haze of alcohol so they were in this mindless state where they could do this insane work.

How did playing Hoffman affect you?
I was really moved by what these people had to go through. The film throws human nature into the picture: what humans are capable of, the darkness we can reach as creatures on this Earth, how we can be reduced to almost animal behavior. I was floored by that aspect of it.

Are you hoping people will see you differently as an actor?
I'm not always a goofball. I'm serious at times. People would be surprised that I'm more serious than they'd anticipate. I'm pretty firm on my opinions and beliefs about life.

Name some for us.
I have a lot of religious beliefs that aren't traditional, but they make sense to me. I believe in Jesus, and I believe in Allah, and I believe in Buddha. I like to think of it in terms of being the best person you can be.

Contributing: Kelly DiNardo, Michele Hatty