Oscars 2013: David Arquette plays reporter for Howard Stern show

Actor David Arquette is sitting among the press backstage at the Oscars, lobbing questions at actors for Howard Stern’s Sirius radio show. He kicked off the evening by asking Christoph Waltz how he’d feel about the possibility of a black pope, and members of the media gasped when they realized the comedian was backstage.

“I just applied for a credential,” Arquette said. “I’m not sure when Howard is going to air it, but they sent me some questions to ask.”

Among them? “Would you ever work with Mel Gibson?” And his self-admitted “worst” query: “‘Have you ever slept with Courteney Cox?” (Cox and Arquette used to be a couple.)

“But I can’t ask that,” he said, his trademark goofy grin plastered to his face.

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In fact, after asking “Paperman” director John Kahrs a rather provocative question, he was worried he’d be kicked out. (“What are you most looking forward to in your gift basket? I hear there are condoms in there. If you don’t use them, I can,” Arquette advised.)

Immediately after that, a press representative in charge of calling on reporters advised the media that they were meant to ask questions -- not “have conversations.”

So Arquette’s next question was decidedly more tame: “Who are you most excited about seeing tonight?” he asked the directors of “Brave.”

“The plan is to throw in some normal ones so they don’t come after me,” he explained. “I’ve been on the other side of this, and you just get the same question all the time. So the idea was to change it up.”

Midway through the evening, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences organizers said the actor’s line of questioning was “not good -- but fine,” but noted they were prepared to throw him out should he become too unruly. Reporters, meanwhile, mostly seemed amused by Arquette’s presence, though some were irked he seemed to be dominating the press microphone.

Arquette seemed on edge after everyone in the room realized he was there, but said the prospect of facing stars he’s friends with later in the evening also had him jittery.

“I know a lot of these people, so it could get weird. But I know Bradley [Cooper] is a big fan of Howard, so I hope I can mess with him a little.”

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