Most people think Steven Spielberg discovered Drew Barrymore. It's a classic Hollywood myth. We all remember Gertie screaming at the alien in E.T., her blonde pigtails and that iconic red hoodie. But before the flying bikes and Reese's Pieces, there was a much darker, weirder, and significantly more psychedelic entry point into cinema for the five-year-old heir to the Barrymore dynasty.
That movie was Altered States.
Released in 1980, this isn't exactly a "family-friendly" flick. It’s a sensory-shattering body horror trip directed by the legendary provocateur Ken Russell. If you haven't seen it, basically, William Hurt plays a scientist named Eddie Jessup who obsesses over finding the "ultimate truth" of human existence. He does this by hopping into sensory deprivation tanks and chugging hallucinogenic Mexican mushroom brews. Naturally, things go south. He starts regressing into a caveman, and eventually, he literally dissolves into a shimmering mass of primordial energy.
Right in the middle of all this madness—between the exploding religious imagery and the screaming man-apes—is a tiny, five-year-old Drew Barrymore playing his daughter, Margaret.
The Drew Barrymore Altered States Connection
Honestly, seeing her in this film today is a trip in itself. She’s so small. She plays Margaret Jessup, the younger of Eddie’s two daughters. While William Hurt is busy having an existential crisis and turning into a primate, Drew is just... being a kid. She has a handful of scenes, most notably at the dinner table where she’s witnessing the slow-motion collapse of her parents' marriage.
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Her performance is brief. Some call it a "blink and you'll miss it" role, but that's not quite right. Even at five, she had that specific "Drew" quality—a naturalism that stood out against the heavy, intellectual dialogue being shouted by the adults.
Why this movie matters for her career
It’s easy to dismiss a debut role if it isn't the lead, but Altered States set the stage for everything that followed. Ken Russell was known for being a difficult, highly demanding director. For a child to navigate a set that intense says a lot about her early professionalism.
- It established her as a professional actor before she was even in grade school.
- It put her on the radar of major casting directors in 1980.
- It gave her a front-row seat to "Method" acting through William Hurt.
What it was really like on that set
Imagine being five years old and your "movie dad" is William Hurt. He was making his own film debut here too, and he wasn't exactly playing a "warm and fuzzy" father figure. In recent years, Drew has opened up about her memories from the production. She actually spoke about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert not long ago.
She mentioned that because she didn't have a relationship with her biological father, John Drew Barrymore, she ended up projecting a lot of those feelings onto Hurt. She’d run into his arms on set just to feel what it was like to have a dad. Then, she’d watch the playback and see him turning into a monkey or a "primal man." Her reaction? "Thank God that's not my dad."
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It's a funny anecdote, but it’s also kinda heartbreaking. It hints at the complicated childhood she’d eventually detail in her autobiography, Little Girl Lost.
The technical chaos of 1980
Filming Altered States was a nightmare for everyone involved. Paddy Chayefsky, the legendary writer who won Oscars for Network, hated what Ken Russell was doing so much that he pulled his name from the credits. He used a pseudonym, "Sidney Aaron," instead.
There were massive disputes over the speed of the dialogue and the trippy visual effects. Drew was essentially a quiet observer in a room full of warring geniuses. While the adults were arguing about whether a man should turn into a blob of light, she was just trying to remember her lines and not be scared of the guys in the monkey suits.
Why you should revisit Altered States today
If you only know Drew Barrymore from 50 First Dates or her talk show, watching Altered States is going to give you whiplash. It is a dense, loud, and visually aggressive film. But it’s also a masterpiece of practical effects. Dick Smith, the guy who did the makeup for The Exorcist, used pioneering "air bladder" effects to make William Hurt’s skin look like it was crawling and shifting.
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The Margaret Jessup "lost" scenes
There’s a lot of talk among film buffs about how much of Drew’s role ended up on the cutting room floor. Given the film’s chaotic production and the focus on Eddie’s internal (and external) mutations, many of the domestic scenes featuring the Jessup children were trimmed. What remains is a skeleton of a family drama wrapped inside a sci-fi nightmare.
Margaret and her sister Grace (played by Megan Jeffers) represent the "normal" world Eddie is leaving behind. Every time the camera cuts to them, it's a reminder of the stakes. He’s not just risking his life; he’s abandoning his kids for a drug-induced trip into the void.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Cinephiles
If you're looking to dive deeper into this era of Drew’s life or the film itself, here’s how to do it right:
- Watch the 4K Restoration: Don't watch a grainy YouTube rip. The colors in the "Hinchi tribe" sequences are meant to be vibrant and overwhelming.
- Compare the Book: Read Paddy Chayefsky’s novel. It’s much more focused on the science and the "first self" theory than the movie’s monster-flick vibe.
- Look for the Parallels: Watch Altered States and E.T. back-to-back. You’ll see how Drew evolved from a background player to a scene-stealer in just two years.
- Check out the Score: The music by John Corigliano was nominated for an Oscar. It’s terrifying and beautiful.
Altered States is more than just a piece of trivia. It’s the start of one of the most resilient careers in Hollywood history. It reminds us that even the biggest stars started somewhere small—in this case, in a sensory deprivation tank of a movie that dared to ask what happens when we stop being human.
To fully appreciate the scope of Barrymore's career, track down a copy of the 1980 original. Look past the flashing lights and the screaming cavemen. Find the little girl at the dinner table. That's where the story really begins.