Content Warning: Brief Discussion of Child Abuse

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is possibly one of the most beloved films to date. It tells the story of a young boy who befriends and protects an alien stranded far from his home. The film was an absolute box office juggernaut of 1982 and continues to be one of director Steven Spielberg’s most popular credits in his filmography. While the film was and still is loved by many, the film did have some tumultuous elements behind the scenes, some stemming from the then-7-year-old Drew Barrymore.

Throughout the entire production, Spielberg took it upon himself to take care of the young actress and to make sure her childhood innocence was still kept intact. “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,” Spielberg said.

According to Vulture, Drew Barrymore had opened up about how she felt about Spielberg and commented that he was the only father figure she ever really had. Her father left her with some traumatic memories, including being physically abused by him when she was just three years old.

On the film set, Barrymore had asked Spielberg if he could be her father, to which he had to reply that he couldn’t. But upon her asking if he could be her godfather, he graciously accepted that.

Spielberg even went as far as to keep the illusion of E.T. himself alive for the young star. The special effect for the alien was an impressive one, but one that required a lot of physical work that needed doing on set. “I didn’t want to burst the bubble,” Spielberg explains, “so I simply said, ‘It’s okay, E.T. is so special E.T. has eight assistants. I am the director, I only have one.'”

And, perhaps one of the most touching details, Spielberg gifted the young actress a cat, which she decided to name after her character in the film, Gertie.