Drew Barrymore Reminisces About Her Childhood Debut on ‘The Tonight Show’

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E.T. celebrates its 42nd anniversary on December 9 this year. Drew Barrymore, the cherished actress, took a heartfelt stroll down memory lane during her appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on May 16. At 49, she revisited a pivotal moment: her debut on the show at the age of 7. Reflecting on her encounter with the iconic Johnny Carson in 1982, Barrymore’s emotions were palpable.

In a captivating segment, Fallon, also 49, played a clip of young Barrymore’s spirited debut. Surprised, Barrymore exclaimed, “No!” The vintage footage showed Carson asking the young actress to scream. “Guys, ready?” she asked with a smile before delivering a high-pitched wail. Carson responded, “That’s a good scream.”

Barrymore recounted, “I practiced so much at home that I was able to do it. The other day, I screamed my throat off. When I got home, I was sweating and needed a shower badly. I was filthy,” she added, sparking laughter from the audience.

Reflecting on her journey, Barrymore shared, “You know what’s so wild when I look at that? My legs don’t touch the ground. Like we are all growing up together. I’m 49 years old, and I’m just growing up with everyone. And my legs touch the ground now,” she said with a smile, grabbing Fallon’s hand.

Barrymore’s illustrious career took off with her role in “E.T.” at age 7, leading to her memorable talk show appearance. In a recent interview, she reminisced about considering E.T. her first imaginary friend during the film’s production. “I think E.T. was definitely sort of my first imaginary friend that I also knew wasn’t real,” she said. “I fully understood, but I think we need to project a belief system in things. Whether imaginary or real, it’s part of a survival mechanism and a pleasure to identify things that make us feel good, that we feel like believe in us like we believe in them.”

Dee Wallace, who played Barrymore’s mother in “E.T.,” revealed that the crew maintained the E.T. illusion for Barrymore. “We found you over there just talking away to E.T., and so we let director Steven Spielberg know,” Wallace recalled. “Steven then appointed two guys to keep E.T. alive so whenever you came over to talk to him, he could react to you.”