Drew Barrymore has revealed she thought E.T. was real on the 1982 set of the classic movie.
As the Steven Spielberg film nears its 40th anniversary, Barrymore has reunited the cast on her talk show, where she was let in on a secret about the production she did not know until now.
Bringing together costars Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton and Dee Wallace, Barrymore confessed she "believed E.T. was real" during the filming of the movie.
She said she would talk to and care for the creature on set.
"I really loved him in such a profound way. Is it like true that … what would happen?" she asked the trio.
"Because I would go and take lunch to him."
Barrymore played Gertie in the film, a young girl who is terrified of the alien at first, before learning to love him. Thomas, 51, played Barrymore's brother Elliot in the movie.
Thomas recalled how she had gone to one of the wardrobe ladies on the set, asking for a scarf for the animatronic alien to keep him warm, "because he was gonna get cold".
It was at this point that Wallace, who played the family matriarch, recalled another anecdote about young Barrymore and her on-set pal.
"We found you over there just talking away to E.T. and so we let director Steven [Spielberg] know," she recounted.
"And 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."
Barrymore reacted with a touched look, but said little else in the preview of the upcoming episode of her show.
However, social media has reacted strongly to the clip, with many saying it brought them to tears.
"BRB just having a cry about this," one said.
"Steven Spielberg appointing 2 guys to ensure E.T. was always operating incase Drew Barrymore went over to talk to him has made my heart so full. What a mensch," one commenter said.
"Seeing Henry Thomas well up as he shares memories of Drew Barrymore looking after ET on set as she believed ET was real," another said.
Another person said given "how dark Barrymore's childhood was" it was a wonderful revelation.
"It feels like a relief to hear this story knowing how dark Drew Barrymore's childhood was. Finally an adult looking after her when she was a child exploited by her mom. It makes sense for her to have ET the same age we had our stuffed toys."
