Drew Barrymore has revealed she actually thought E.T. was a real alien throughout the filming process on the iconic movie, with the crew taking special measures to keep that belief going.
The actor began her career in showbiz when she was six years old, as a child star in Steven Spielberg’s beloved film about an alien who falls to Earth and befriends a young boy.
In a special episode of her US talk show to celebrate the movie’s 40th anniversary with her former co-stars, Drew was heard recalling: “I really really loved him in such a profound way.”
“What would happen…?” she then questioned. “Because… I would go and take lunch to him?”
Co-star Dee Wallace then revealed that Steven Spielberg was so keen to keep Drew’s fantasy going that he had crew members “keep E.T. alive” for her during breaks in production.
“We found you over there just talking away to E.T.,” Dee told the Charlie’s Angels star.
“And so we let Steven know, and from that time on, Steven appointed two guys to keep E.T. alive so whenever you came over to talk to him, he could react to you.”
And Drew’s adorable story really warmed people’s hearts over on Twitter:
E.T. became an instant classic upon its release in 1982, scooping nine Oscar nominations, including a win for Best Visual Effects.
Predating CGI technology, the mechatronic model used to depict E.T. in the film features 85 points of movement and was operated by 12 professional animators.
Regarded as an engineering masterpiece, it was originally created by Italian special effects designer Carlo Rambaldi.
It was revealed this week that the E.T. model is expected to fetch up to three million dollars (£2.6 million) when it goes under the hammer in December.