When Steven Spielberg first met a six-year-old girl named Drew Barrymore, he wasn't looking for a seasoned professional. He wanted a kid. What he got was a tiny hurricane who walked into his office and proceeded to "interview" him before he could even open his mouth.
Drew Barrymore in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial isn't just a classic piece of casting. It was a lightning-strike moment that changed Hollywood, and honestly, it’s a miracle the performance turned out as sweet as it did, considering the chaos happening behind the scenes.
Most people remember Gertie as the pigtail-wearing, high-pitched scream machine who eventually teaches an alien how to speak. But the reality of how Drew got the part—and how she behaved on set—is way more interesting than the movie's script.
The Punk Rock Lie That Landed the Role
You’ve probably heard about child actors being coached by "stage parents" to say the right thing. Drew did the opposite. During her audition, she looked one of the most powerful directors in history in the eye and lied through her teeth.
She told Spielberg she wasn't just an actress. She claimed she was the drummer for a hardcore punk rock band called the Purple People Eaters.
She talked about touring. She talked about the "lifestyle." Spielberg, 78 now but then just a guy looking for a spark, was hooked. He didn't believe her for a second, obviously, but he loved the imagination. He realized that if she could commit to a lie that big with that much conviction, she could make an audience believe in a rubber puppet.
🔗 Read more: Shamea Morton and the Real Housewives of Atlanta: What Really Happened to Her Peach
When the Alien Became Real
The most heartwarming part of the Drew Barrymore in E.T. story is that, for a long time, she didn't realize E.T. was a machine. She was seven years old during filming. To her, that animatronic hunk of latex was a living, breathing friend.
She used to take her lunch over to the E.T. puppet and eat with him. She’d whisper her secrets into his oversized ears.
One day, the set was particularly freezing. Drew noticed E.T. looked "cold," so she went to the wardrobe department and demanded a scarf to wrap around his neck. She didn't want him to catch a cold.
Instead of breaking the illusion and telling her, "Hey kid, it's just wires and hydraulic fluid," Spielberg did something incredible. He assigned two crew members to stay on the "E.T. controls" at all times. Whenever Drew walked over to talk to the alien, they would make him blink, tilt his head, or react to her. They kept the magic alive for her throughout the entire production.
Why Gertie's Lines Sound So Natural
If you watch the movie closely, Gertie’s dialogue feels a bit... unpolished. That’s because it was. Spielberg was so enamored with Drew’s personality that he let her improvise a huge chunk of her scenes.
💡 You might also like: Who is Really in the Enola Holmes 2 Cast? A Look at the Faces Behind the Mystery
The famous moment where she looks at E.T.’s shriveled, orange-peel feet and says, "I don't like his feet," wasn't in the script. She just genuinely thought his feet were gross. Spielberg loved the honesty and kept the camera rolling.
The Darker Side of Stardom
We can't talk about Drew Barrymore in E.T. without acknowledging the "E.T. hangover." The movie was a global phenomenon, becoming the highest-grossing film of the 1980s. For a seven-year-old, that kind of fame is a poison.
By the time she was nine, her mother, Jaid Barrymore, was taking her to Studio 54 five nights a week. Think about that. While most kids were doing second-grade math, Drew was rubbing shoulders with New York’s elite in a nightclub known for extreme excess.
- Age 11: She was struggling with a drinking problem.
- Age 12: She was addicted to drugs.
- Age 13: She was in rehab.
- Age 14: She was legally emancipated from her parents.
It’s a heavy trajectory. People often look at the pigtails in E.T. and feel nostalgia, but for Drew, that role was the start of a very lonely, very public battle for survival. Spielberg eventually became her godfather, providing one of the few stable male figures in her life, often referring to her as his "training wheels" for fatherhood.
The Legacy of a Child Star
Despite the "unemployable disaster" label Hollywood slapped on her in her early teens, Drew Barrymore pulled off the greatest pivot in cinema history. She didn't just survive; she conquered. She founded Flower Films, produced Charlie's Angels, and eventually became the daytime talk show host we see today.
📖 Related: Priyanka Chopra Latest Movies: Why Her 2026 Slate Is Riskier Than You Think
When she hosted a 40th-anniversary reunion on The Drew Barrymore Show with Henry Thomas (Elliott) and Dee Wallace (the mom), it wasn't just a PR stunt. You could see the genuine, almost parental bond they still shared.
What to Watch for Next Time
Next time you sit down to watch E.T., keep these specific things in mind to see the "real" Drew:
- The Wardrobe: Look for the scenes where she’s interacting with E.T. by herself. That’s not acting; that’s a little girl talking to her best friend.
- The Reactions: Watch her face during the "screaming" scene when she first sees him in the closet. That raw energy is what Spielberg saw in his office.
- The Improv: Listen to her side comments. The "irrepressible" nature Spielberg described is present in every frame.
The magic of Drew Barrymore in E.T. wasn't that she was a perfect actor. It was that she was a perfect kid in a world that usually tries to make kids grow up too fast. She eventually did grow up, but she managed to keep that "punk rock" spirit that got her the job in the first place.
If you want to dive deeper into the making of the film, check out the 4K Ultra HD bonus features or the 1982 Premiere magazine archives where Spielberg first discussed the "Method acting" of a nine-year-old Henry Thomas and the chaotic energy of a six-year-old Drew.
Actionable Insight: If you're a parent or a creator, take a page out of Spielberg’s book: sometimes the best "performance" comes from protecting the imagination of the people you're working with, rather than forcing them to see the "wires" behind the scenes.