Throwback Thursday: When Patricia Arquette Cheered on Husband Nicolas Cage at the Oscars

This story first appeared in the Feb. 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

The last time Patricia Arquette went home with an Oscar was in 1996, when then-husband Nicolas Cage, who had thanked “my gorgeous wife, Patricia” in his acceptance speech, won best actor for Leaving Las Vegas. (They divorced in 2001.) Now, after winning SAG, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for her 12-year-spanning role in Boyhood, the best supporting actress nominee has a good shot at bringing home a statuette of her own Feb. 22.

Arquette, 46, whose family’s show business roots stretch back four generations, all the way to vaudeville, had her first theatrical experience at age 4 as the Philadelphia Folk Festival’s Chicken Little. Her first major film gig came in 1987’s Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors: Freddy Krueger slashed her 19-year-old wrists, she showed off some impressive gymnastic skills and lived to see the credits roll.

See more Oscar Throwback: See the Seating Chart and Invitation for the First Academy Awards

But the early role Arquette mentioned in her recent BAFTA speech was that of the prostitute Alabama, who has a bloody fight with James Gandolfini in 1993’s True Romance, which she called “a bomb. It found its audience later.” Says James Robinson, CEO of Morgan Creek, which released the film: “We got a lot of things right with that movie, and at the top of the list was casting Patricia. For me, she and James Gandolfini were the highlight of the movie.” Arquette’s next project with the potential for a 12-year lifespan is CBS’ latest addition to its CSI franchise, CSI: Cyber, premiering March 4.

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