Courteney Cox hired an acting coach to help her prepare for the new TV show Shining Vale.

In the horror-comedy, the Friends actress plays a former wild child and famous author who moves to an old house in the suburbs of Connecticut with her family and eventually begins to wonder if she’s depressed, possessed or both.

The emotionally complex role of Pat Phelps require Courteney to push herself in new ways professionally, so she worked with acting coach Nancy Banks to find new depths by intensely analysing every script.

“That was a game-changer as far as reinvigorating my love for acting,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “Now, I would never do an episode or scene without running things by her or talking it through. Nancy just makes things more interesting – things that I wouldn’t see it that way. And so, it really brought a lot of joy to this part, for sure.”

And it seems the preparation paid off, as the Scream actress believes that she does “some of the best acting moments of my whole career” in the series.

Courteney acknowledges that she will always be known for her Friends character Monica Geller, but hopes that her new show will help prove she is capable of more.

“I want to be remembered as Monica,” she stated. “But I’d also like to have something else… I want to make a mark not just as one character but as other characters and other successes. I have a lot more to do. I have a lot more to show.”

Shining Vale premieres in March.

– Cover Media