Her sister had to reassure her that &34;that's not how movies are.&34; Patricia Arquette says she almost quit acting after her first movie: 'Really crazy things

Her sister had to reassure her that "that's not how movies are."

Patricia Arquette says she almost quit acting after her first movie: 'Really crazy things happened'

Her sister had to reassure her that "that's not how movies are."

By Daysia Tolentino

August 30, 2025 11:00 a.m. ET

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Patricia Arquette in 2025. Credit:

Monica Schipper/Getty

Patricia Arquette nearly quit acting after filming her first movie *Pretty Smart.*

Arquette shared the story during a career retrospective as part of SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations. The 1987 film was not the best experience for the then 18-year-old actress, who said "really crazy things happened" on the shoot.

While the *Severance* actress didn't go into too much detail, she recalled filming through lunch breaks and being served meat during eventual mealtime, despite being a vegetarian. Arquette said useable produce was scarce because of the Chernobyl disaster, which happened shortly before filming.

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"I'm a vegetarian, but there wasn't really a lot of vegetables because of where we were because of Chernobyl," she said. "So, they just would bring me, like, a Coke and potatoes. And then I opened it and there was meat, but it had fur on it."

Arquette played Zero, leader of the rebellious Subs clique at a Greek private school, in *Pretty Smart. *The *Boyhood *star said that she had to do her own wardrobe and keep her own continuity notes, rather than have a script supervisor do it.

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Patricia Arquette and Tricia Leigh Fisher in a promotional image for 1987's 'Pretty Smart'.

New World Pictures/courtesy Everett

While some parts were fun, such as drinking local ouzo, Arquette came away from the experience feeling like acting wasn't for her. Coming from a family of actors, she confided in her sister Rosanna Arquette about the experience and her desire to quit.

"She's like, 'Why do you say that?' And I told her some of the crazier things that happened," the *Medium *actress said. "She was like, 'Honey, that's not how movies are.'"

Luckily, Arquette was encouraged by her sister to put the experience behind her. She went on to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in *Boyhood* as well as two Emmys for her work on *Medium *and *The Act. *She is nominated for two Emmys this year for acting and producing on *Severance.*

Check out the full SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversation with Patricia Arquette below.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Movies"

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Source: VOGUE MAG

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