Steven Spielberg opens up about feeling torn apart as a parent and director during production of “E..T” with the then-child star Drew Barrymore.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker explained he was ‘helpless’ over the way Barrymore’s tumultuous home life was evident when making the 1982 fantasy come true movie. Barrymore was seven at the time.
“She stayed up long after bedtime, went to places she should have only heard of, and lived a life at a very tender age that I think robbed her of her childhood,” said Spielberg. Vulture. “Still, I felt very helpless because I was not his father. I could only be a kind of consigliere for her.
Barrymore’s father, former actor John Drew Barrymore, was an abusive alcoholic. “Talk about someone who wasn’t a careerist,” Barrymore said. “He was like, ‘I’m gonna burn this fucking dynasty down.'”
As a child star, Barrymore called Spielberg “the only person in my life to date who has ever been a parental figure.” Spielberg even shot “ET” in the sequel to keep the story magic alive for Barrymore.
“I didn’t want to burst the bubble,” Spielberg said, citing that he had to explain why the puppet had multiple people operating it. “So I just said, ‘It’s okay, ET is so special, ET has eight assistants. I am the director, I only have one.
Barrymore later asked if Spielberg could be his father; when he said no, he agreed to become her godfather. Barrymore stayed with the Spielberg family week ends.
Years later, Barrymore also stayed with director Tamra Davis after being cast in 1992’s “Guncrazy.” At the time, Davis explained, Barrymore “did not have a good reputationcoming out of rehab.
“But she came in and said, ‘Nobody takes me seriously. I want to prove that I can come back. And I just melted,’ Davis said. , I like you. I will do everything I can to help you.
She added: “I felt like she was kind of our daughter. We provided her with this surreal, stable family, where she lived with us and where she could just focus on being an actress.
Barrymore said of Davis, “I got to her house late at night with my laundry basket, and she said I could stay in her guest room, and then I didn’t leave for eight months.”
Barrymore previously opened up about her enduring parental relationship with Spielberg, telling The Wall Street Journal“Not having a father, not having that kind of a relationship with anyone, he was so good and caring and kind. We still have a really wonderful relationship. I thank him because if he doesn’t m hadn’t chosen, I think my life would be really different. It’s crazy when you can really go back to someone.