David Arquette Says He's Been Having a 'Hard Time' on Scream 5 Without Series Director Wes Craven

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Wes Craven and David Arquette

David Arquette still grows emotional at the memory of horror icon Wes Craven.

In an interview with The Independent, Arquette, 49, shed tears when reminded of a sweet thing Craven once said about the actor: In 1997, the director of Scream 1-4 said that the actor was “definitely in pain.”

“When I’m around him,” Craven said at the time. “I feel this enormous sense of pain and longing for a simpler world — for love.”

Arquette apologized for growing emotional, saying, “I’m sorry. I’ve been having a really hard time lately missing him.”

“That’s such a beautiful thing to say,” he continued. “And, you know, I was tortured. My mother was dying around that time, so that was a really difficult and dark period.”

Arquette added, “And it’s true. I do, like, long for a world of love.”

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Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock David Arquette as Dewey Riley in Scream

The actor is reprising his role as Dewey Riley in the upcoming Scream 5 — the first in the franchise that Craven has not directed. The director died in August 2015 of brain cancer at 76.

Arquette said he felt Craven’s presence on the set of the movie, revealing he’d listen to some of Craven’s favorite music in between scenes and scroll through the late filmmaker’s Twitter account.

The actor said he was “looking up old tweets and who he followed because I wanted to follow who he followed.”

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In August, Arquette offered an update on the fifth installment in the series which sees him reunite with the main cast, including his ex-wife Courteney Cox and franchise lead Neve Campbell.

"We co-parent," Arquette told Entertainment Tonight of him and Cox. The two share daughter Coco, 16. "So, we're in touch quite a bit. It's great. But we always love working together. She's an incredible actress, so it'll be fun to bring these characters back to life and see where they're at. ... Co-starring's the easy part."

Arquette previously expressed his excitement at returning to the film series, saying in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, "I am thrilled to be playing Dewey again and to reunite with my Scream family, old and new. Scream has been such a big part of my life, and for both the fans and myself, I look forward to honoring Wes Craven’s legacy."