Courteney Cox Says She Can Relate to Her 'Shining Vale' Character's Midlife Crisis: 'I Understand That'

The Friends alum plays Pat Phelps in the new Starz horror-comedy series Shining Vale, which premieres on March 6

Photo: Rich Fury/Getty

Courteney Cox says she can very much relate to her character in the new Starz show Shining Vale.

In the horror-comedy series, the actress, 57, plays best-selling romance author Pat Phelps, who feels dissatisfied with her life 17 years after publishing her successful novel.

Pat and her family leave their life in Brooklyn for the suburbs of Connecticut as Pat attempts to repair her marriage with husband Terry, played by Greg Kinnear, while parenting her two teenage kids. There, Pat encounters a ghost, played by Mira Sorvino, that only she is able to see.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times published Sunday, Cox said playing Pat offered her "so many opportunities" to express herself through art.

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Starz

"Going through a midlife crisis — I understand that," the Friends alum told the outlet. "Being at that stage in life where, we don't want to say the word 'menopause,' but that's what she's dealing with."

"And what else," she continued, "... marriage and how it's work, man. A lot of work. And what it's like to be a mom to a teenager — that it's not easy. Some of the best acting moments of my whole career came from this show."

Cox has taken on various roles in the past, from Gale Weathers in the Scream film franchise to divorcee Jules Cobb in the sitcom Cougar Town. However, the actress feels her character on Shining Vale is much different than her previous work.

"It's been a while since I acted [on this scale]," Cox told the Times. "This role has helped me find a new excitement in it."

Starz

In order to master the role, Cox connected with acting coach Nancy Banks through former Friends costar Jennifer Aniston, which she believes has helped rejuvenate her as an actress.

"That was a game-changer as far as reinvigorating my love for acting. Now, I would never do an episode or scene without running things by her or talking it through," Cox told the Times.

"Nancy just makes things more interesting — things that I wouldn't see it that way," she added. "And so it really brought a lot of joy to this part, for sure."

Shining Vale premieres on March 6 at 10 p.m. on Starz.