Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore Remember Their Experiences With the Animatronic E.T. On Set
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial has recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. E.T. is such a special movie, I believe it’s one of the perfect stories out there, and I still feel wonderment, joy, and deep sadness when I watch it. It’s truly magical, and it’s fun to hear that the kids on set had an experience that reflects that.
A few months ago, the main cast members reunited on The Drew Barrymore Show, as Barrymore played little Gertie in the movie, and she welcomed back her onscreen brothers, Henry Thomas, who played Elliott, and Robert MacNaughton, who played Mike, as well as their mother, played by Dee Wallace.
They reminisced about the production, often noting Barrymore’s connection with the E.T. puppet, who she believed was real. "I really loved him in such a profound way," Barrymore recalled. "I would go and take lunch to him."
Thomas said:
"The first thing I remember is that we were on stage and it was quite cold on the stage and you asked the wardrobe lady if you could have a scarf for E.T.'s neck because he was gonna get cold, so you wrapped the scarf around his neck. But Dee has a great story."
"We found you over there just talking away to E.T. and so we let Steven know," Wallace said. "So Steven, from that time on, appointed two guys to keep E.T. alive so whenever you came over to talk to him, he could react to you."
What a sweet gesture, and such a cool experience for a little kid. Thomas, being a little older recalled the experience of working with E.T. to be a lot more technical. He was let in more on the process that went into bringing this mechanical puppet to life. He remembers:
"So this is pretty funny, because there's about 13 guys that operated E.T., and they would be on the other side of the stage. So I would deliver my line and then I would hear this chorus from far away of like 12 or 13 grown men going 'ow-ouch!' because they were running the remote control for the lip movements and stuff, and they were matching it with their own voice."
On one hand, it’s crazy to hear all the behind the scenes stuff, but on the other, it’s just such an incredible testament to the acting ability of all the kids on set, especially Henry Thomas. I still can’t watch that movie without crying in the end, and it’s because of the story, the connection of the characters to each other, and the acting of the incredible cast.
via: EW