“E.T. Phone Home!”
So I was randomly flipping channels just now and stumbled upon ET The Extra Terrestrial on Star Movies. OMG, it’s been forever since I watched this movie and I realised most people born after 1990 may not even have heard if it! And that got me thinking, what the heck happened to those kids?
The adorable little Elliott grew up to be this guy! Thomas Henry who appeared in more than 40 films and is best known for his role in the 1982 Steven Spielberg epic E.T. and the 1984 Cloak & Dagger.
Robert MacNaughton was also best known for his role as Elliott’s brother, Michael (for which he won a 1982 Young Artist Award as Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.) Robert also played the lead role of Adam Farmer in the 1983 film I Am the Cheese.
And saving the cutest for last, Gertie was played by Drew Barrymore! Elliott’s mischievous 5-year-old sister. She starred in her breakout role in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and endeared herself to film audiences of every generation in her role as little sister Gertie, who was shocked into screaming together with E.T. in the bedroom closet. She quickly became one of Hollywood’s most recognized child actresses.
Following a turbulent childhood which was marked by recurring drug and alcohol abuse and two stints in rehab, Barrymore wrote the 1990 autobiography, Little Girl Lost. She successfully made the transition from child star to adult actress with a number of films including Poison Ivy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side, and Everyone Says I Love You. Subsequently, she established herself in romantic comedies such as The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates.
This is still my favourite scene ever 🙂