Scream's Melissa Barrera Reveals The Cast Members Who Helped Her Conquer Stage Fright - Exclusive
Everyone needs a little help from their friends every now and then, and that goes for actors, too. Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) had big shoes to fill when she co-opted the mantle as the final girl in "Scream" (2022). Luckily for Barrera, she didn't have to go at it alone. She had OG "Scream" final girl Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott) right there with her to coach the young actress.
In fact, the franchise's legacy cast was there to lend a helping hand to the next generation of unlucky Woodsboro students. When Ghostface calls, you answer the phone, after all. Both David Arquette (Dewey) and Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) answered that call — giving gripping performances for their own characters and providing some advice to the new "Scream" stars.
During an exclusive interview with Looper, Melissa Barrera and Jack Quaid, Barrera listed the difficulties of taking up the final girl mantle and which actors helped prepare her for the weight of the role.
The legacy cast's greatest advice
On whether Barrera was nervous about taking on this role alongside Neve Campbell and if the horror icon guided her along the way, she said, "Yes. Very, very nervous, very intimidated, and just afraid of messing it up. Because the fans had been waiting for so long for another movie, there was a lot of pressure, but then everyone was so great. The directors were so generous and just held my hand along the way, and so did Jack [Quaid] and Jenna [Ortega]."
As it turns out, everyone's favorite legacy cast members gave the "Scream" newbies some advice. "When Neve and Courteney [Cox] and David [Arquette] were on set, they were just telling us to have fun and to enjoy it because they've lived with these characters for so long and in the universe for so long, and it's been such a huge part of their careers and their lives, and they know how special it is. They wanted us to be very aware of what we were stepping into."
Neve Campbell's Wes Craven homage
Neve Campbell didn't only have advice for the cast. Being in the series for so long, she has a deep understanding of Wes Craven and wanted to do right by the director. Barrera added, "We did it with the utmost respect and admiration, and Neve, I learned so much from her just by ... watching the way that she works — the way that she has her own input about how Wes [Craven] would've done things, and how in one of the other movies, there was something similar that we could reference." Barrera was appreciative of Campbell's input, noting, "It was thrilling to have that, to have her as a connection and to learn from her."
Quaid chimed in to say of Barrera, "I really quickly have to compliment Melissa. As much as we've been saying today about how the legacy cast were leading us and welcoming us — which they definitely were — Melissa definitely took up a leadership role within our cast of newbies and just led us with such grace." He continued, "Without you at the center of all that, I don't know what would've happened with us. I just wanted to personally thank you. Seriously, you were amazing."
Barrera responded with, "Thank you. I love you." Is anyone else tearing up at how supportive this cast is?
"Scream" is now playing exclusively in theaters.