Drew Barrymore

A child performance so natural that a generation remembers it as a documentary: Drew Barrymore was six years old.

Barrymore plays the youngest sibling in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a performance built on genuine reaction rather than on direction, achieved partly by keeping the creature's operation hidden from her on set. Her scenes are the film's emotional register: unguarded, funny and frightened in quick succession.

Background and Influences

She comes from a long established acting family and began working as a very small child, and she has been publicly candid about the difficulties that followed, including a childhood in the industry and a very early recovery. She rebuilt her career as an adult and became a producer, developing projects for herself rather than waiting to be cast in them.

Style and Themes

Recurring subjects: openness, characters whose warmth is unguarded, and comedy played without protection. She plays sincerity without irony, which is unusual for a performer with her history, and her producing choices favour comedies built on genuine affection between the characters rather than on humiliation.

Legacy and Influence

Her childhood role is among the most recognisable in cinema, and her adult career as producer and lead in romantic comedy shaped an entire strand of American film in the two thousands. She now hosts a daytime television programme, an unusual third act for a performer of her generation.

Who Should Explore Their Work

For viewers who want to see one of cinema's best child performances. Suited to families approaching the science fiction classic, and to those interested in how a career recovers from starting far too early.