Jonathan Mendelsohn
At about 7 years old, iconic actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore starred in Steven Spielberg‘s 1982 classic, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Since then, Spielberg and Barrymore have formed a special bond, with the legendary filmmaker becoming Barrymore’s godfather after meeting on the film’s set.
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Barrymore told Vulture that the beloved director is “the only person in my life to this day that ever was a parental figure.” Spielberg also spoke to Vulture, and revealed that it was extremely tough to see Barrymore go through hard times as a teenager, saying he felt “helpless.”
Steven Spielberg Discusses His Father-Daughter-Like Relationship With Drew Barrymore
Spielberg told Vulture that while filming E.T., young Barrymore was experiencing troubles at home. The War of the Worlds director said, “She was staying up way past her bedtime, going to places she should have only been hearing about, and living a life at a very tender age that I think robbed her of her childhood. Yet I felt very helpless because I wasn’t her dad. I could only kind of be a consigliere to her.”
Barrymore revealed that her real father wasn’t much of a help during her adolescent years. She said, “Talk about someone who was not a careerist. He was like, ‘I will burn this f***ing dynasty to the ground.’”
One particularly heartfelt moment that occurred on the set of E.T. was when young Barrymore believed the iconic alien was real. Spielberg did not want to break the illusion for the young actress, so the director shot the film in strict continuity. It was revealed that during lunch breaks, Barrymore would dine with the puppet and “tell him her secrets.”
While filming E.T., Barrymore was shocked to see close to 10 puppeteers operating the extraterrestrial. However, Spielberg played it cool, saying, “It’s okay, E.T. is so special E.T. has eight assistants. I am the director, I only have one.” Barrymore and Speilberg maintained a close relationship throughout her childhood, with the actress staying with the cinematic master’s family “on weekends; he gave her a cat she named Gertie and took her to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.”
