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David Arquette stars as the title character in Sherlock Holmes at the Ed Mirvish Theatre.

'People have impressions of you," David Arquette says, "and it's hard to get people to see outside of the box." The Scream actor steps outside the box as the lead of a touring production of Sherlock Holmes, an upbeat adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective tales, by the late playwright Greg Kramer. We spoke to Mr. Arquette in advance of the show's upcoming run at Ed Mirvish Theatre.

You had a few preview shows in Los Angeles before bringing Sherlock Holmes here. How did they go?

We prepared for a dress rehearsal for an invited, partial audience and I got lost. I couldn't go on. We had to apologize and not do the show that day. There's so much dialogue. I was sweating and I was just lost. It was the scariest moment in my acting career, to be honest with you. I thought I was losing my mind.

Good lord. Then what happened?

We used the rest of that day for rehearsal. I studied my lines a little more. We had things put in place for safety nets. And we were able to do a great first preview and the shows went really well after that. One of the shows was pretty sloppy. The audience was out of it, too.

So, what was it, nerves?

It was. And it was a lot of lines. I wasn't prepared to be so exposed.

How did you pull yourself together?

I felt, afterward, that I had to lose my mind at that moment, to truly get this character. There's an element of madness with him that I was drawn to initially. But then later I thought I couldn't do it. I was literally living a tormented soul's moment. And then I realized, that's where it lives. I realized you had to go a little mad, and then tighten it all up.

There's a song, I'm sure you're aware, You Cannot Kill David Arquette, by the Black Math Experiment. You've had your ups and downs, personally and professionally, and you just told me about a pretty rough moment with this production. So, how resilient are you? How tough do you think you are?

I think I'm pretty tough. There are a lot of things that get thrown at you in the entertainment world. And personal struggles, too. Life is not easy. But listen, I've got it pretty easy compared to a lot of other people. I'm not naive about that.

How about compared to other actors? How much hustling do you have to do, to maintain a career?

There's a lot of hustling. It sort of never ends. I remember one time being on a vacation with Brad Pitt. I watched him getting upset with his agent because he couldn't get seen on one role. I was like, 'Are you kidding me? Brad Pitt not getting a role he wants? That's unheard of.' But it happens.

Well, I think your friend Brad Pitt should help you get a nice role.

[Laughs] You'd think certain people, not him specifically, would call on you. It does happen once in a while, but not often. So, it's up to you to stick with it. That's the main thing. You just never give up.

Sherlock Holmes, Oct. 27 to Nov. 8. $39.95 to $119.95. Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St., 416-872-1212 or ticketking.com.

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