Courteney Cox Recalls ‘Embarrassing’ Audition for Bruce Springsteen Music Video

Friends star Courteney Cox got her big Hollywood break after starring in Bruce Springsteens’ 1984 music video for Dancing in the Dark, but now the actress has opened up and recalled her “embarrassing” audition for the iconic video. During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Cox reflected on the day she tried out for the part. She explained that she found herself amidst a crowd of professional dancers, which led her to feel very unqualified.

 “I thought I was in the wrong place. I was like, ‘I don’t know what they’re doing, but I can’t even bend my leg. Like, this is it.’” She went on to share, “I went in to [director] Brian De Palma’s office, he put on the music and said, ‘Will you dance?’ I thought, ‘Right now, here, in front of you, just the two of us?’ It was so embarrassing. I think that’s why I got it, because I was literally like [nervously saying], ‘OK.’ I think that’s what they wanted, a fan that just couldn’t believe it.”

Cox then praised the legendary musician, saying, “Bruce Springsteen, God, he’s so incredible. I love that song.” However, the actress — who is now 57 — confessed that she gets “a little embarrassed” whenever she sees the video now. “I do feel like when I watch the video, when I see it, I mean, God, did you see my dance? It was pathetic,” she said. “I’m not a bad dancer, but that was horrible. I was so nervous.”

More recently, Cox is starring in a new horror-comedy series with Greg Kinnear, titled Shining Vale. The series follows a Patricia “Pat” Phelps (Cox) and her husband Terry (Kinnear) as they move their dysfunctional family “from the city to a small town into a house in which terrible atrocities have taken place.” However, “no one seems to notice except for Pat, who’s convinced she’s either depressed or possessed – turns out, the symptoms are exactly the same.”

The actress also reprised her role as Gail Weathers in the newest Scream film, which opened in theaters in January. The new film brings back Cox and her fellow franchise stars Neve Campbell and David Arquette. In the film, Woodsboro teen Tara (Jenna Ortega) is seen being stalked and attacked by Ghostface, similar to how Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker was killed in the first film. 

The attack is just the first in a string of violent encounters that once again hold a tight grip on the small town. All the chaos and bloodshed bring the final three survivors back together once more, as they are the only ones who’ve withstood the onslaught of each series of Ghostface’s murder sprees. Scream is now available to buy from digital retailers. Shining Vale debuts Sunday on Starz.