Drew Barrymore says Steven Spielberg was the only “parent figure” she ever had

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By Webdesk


Drew Barrymore was only 6 years old when she first met director Steven Spielberg during a casting call for the 1982 blockbuster “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”. Little did she know that the audition would not only lead to her breakthrough as an actor, but also to a long-lasting friendship with Spielberg. In an interview with Vulture published June 5, the 48-year-old actor said Spielberg was “to this day the only person in my life who was ever a parental figure.”

Barrymore, who is open about growing up with uninvolved and abusive parents, apparently asked Spielberg if he could be her father while they worked on “ET” together, but he declined. So then she asked if he could be her godfather, and he said yes. Spielberg also went to great lengths to hide the reality of a movie set from Barrymore after she saw men serving the alien behind a wall and she asked him to kick them out. “I didn’t want to burst the bubble,” Spielberg explained. “So I just said, ‘It’s okay, ET is so special. ET has eight assistants. I’m the director, I only have one.’ Barrymore would then have lunch with ET and tell him her secrets and Spielberg made sure assistants were on hand for the alien to respond to Barrymore.

Barrymore told Vulture that she was staying with the principal on weekends and that he would take her to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. He also gave her a cat she named Gertie.

Barrymore was raised by her mother, Ildiko Jaid Barrymore, who according to Barrymore treated her more like a friend and client than a daughter. She says her father, John Drew Barrymore, was an abusive drunk who abandoned her mother when she was young. Barrymore was emancipated from her parents at the age of 14 and she says she and her mother never quite reconciled. Referring to Jennette McCurdy and Brooke Shields’ broken relationships with their own mothers, Barrymore said, “All their mothers are gone, and my mother isn’t.” She continued, “And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t have that luxury. But I can’t wait. I don’t want to live in a state where I wish someone would leave sooner than they’re supposed to. I’ll be so I can grow. I really want her to be happy and thriving and healthy, but I have to fucking grow even though she’s on this planet.”

Almost immediately after saying those words, Barrymore regretted ill-will to her mother. “I dared to say it, and I didn’t feel well,” she told the outlet. ‘I do care. I never care. I don’t know if I ever knew how to guard the wall completely, close it, not feel it, build it.’

Vulture notes that a few weeks after the interview was conducted, Barrymore mentioned that she texted her mother for her birthday. Five days later, the actor penned a blog post, in which he wrote in part, “My mom is still here. And I worry every day that something in my investigation will hurt her feelings. Because that’s not what I want. And I’m terrified of how I can rightfully go on my expedition without consequences,” she wrote. “Again my friend Dr. Aliza Pressman, as I poured out my concerns to her, she said, “Well, you don’t have the luxury of waiting, you have two young girls.” with it came a gift and peace. This isn’t just about my mom. It’s about my girls. It’s about me. It’s about how to just be a mother.’ Barrymore has two daughters, Olive and Frankie, with ex-husband Will Kopelman.

Check out more photos of Barrymore and Spielberg over the years ahead.





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