Steven Spielberg Reflects on Decades-Long Friendship with Drew Barrymore Since “E.T., ”Jokes 'I Kind of Adopted' Her

Lexi Lane, Kristen O'BrienSat, March 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM UTC

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Steven Spielberg (left) and Drew Barrymore (right) working on 'E.T.,' Drew Barrymore (left) and Steven Spielberg (right) in 2025.Credit: Bruce Mc Broom/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock; Mike Coppola/Getty -

Steven Spielberg has maintained a close relationship with Drew Barrymore since she starred in E.T in 1982

He joked that he "kind of adopted" the actress, who is his goddaughter

"I remember after making E.T., there was something about that, for me, I didn't want those kids to go home," the director said at SXSW's The Big Picture keynote on Friday, March 13

Steven Spielberg has been the driving force behind some of the biggest films. Now, he's reflecting on how his work has influenced his personal life.

During the Keynote: The Big Picture with Steven Spielberg event at the Hilton Austin Downtown Grand Ballroom on Friday, March 13, the acclaimed director told the SXSW crowd about how E.T. specifically brought him a major revelation.

"E.T. made me want to have kids," said Spielberg, 79. "And I remember after making E.T., there was something about that, for me, I didn't want those kids to go home."

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Steven Spielberg at SWSW in Texas on March 13.Credit: Erika Goldring/Getty

"Drew Barrymore never really went home," he joked. "I kind of adopted Drew, and helped co-parent her... right up until last week, when we were on a text together, you know? I'm still very much connected to Drew's life. But I love those kids."

Barrymore, 51, famously launched her career after playing the younger sister, Gertie Taylor, in the 1982 film. Gertie, along with her brothers Elliott (Henry Thomas) and Michael (Robert MacNaughton), move the adorable alien E.T. into their family home — and do their best to protect the creature from the government that's hunting him.

While attending the TCM Classic Film Festival at 92NY in New York City on Jan. 25, Spielberg spoke about Barrymore improvising during filming. "The camera was rolling and Drew said, ‘I don't like his feet.’ We used it," he recalled, adding, “Drew made up a lot of her own dialogue because she was irrepressible.”

Spielberg also spoke about parenting during his appearance at the N.Y.C. festival. "I didn’t want to have kids because it was not a kind of equation that made sense for me as I was going from movie to movie to movie, script to script," he said.

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"And I started thinking, ‘Well, maybe this could be my real life someday.’ It was the first time that it occurred to me that maybe I could be a dad," he added. "And maybe in a way, a director is a dad, or a mom."

Steven Spielberg, Drew Barrymore.Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Based on the movie's success, Barrymore became the youngest person to guest-host Saturday Night Live at just 7 years old. She maintained a close relationship with Spielberg over the years, as he was her godfather.

During her turbulent period as a teenager and in her early twenties, she posed for the 1995 cover of Playboy around her 20th birthday. After Spielberg saw the cover, he sent her a quilt with a message that said: "Cover up!"

She recounted the story on The Drew Barrymore Show for her 46th birthday in 2021. She told her guest, Savannah Guthrie, that he was "the first person I knew cared," and Spielberg then made a surprise appearance.

“Oh, Drewface, I still care about you,” Spielberg told her. “I’ve always cared about you ever since the first time this little blonde hurricane walked into an audition in my office and took us by storm, and then took the entire world by storm. That was you then, and that is you today.”

"I always thought every time I was doing something good or right, I would always think about how you would think or feel about it because I loved making you proud. I lived to make you proud," she emotionally replied.

Drew Barrymore in 'E.T.'Credit: Globe Photos/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Barrymore also honored E.T. for the film's 40th anniversary in 2022 by bringing her former costars Thomas, 54, MacNaughton, 59, and Dee Wallace onto her talk show for a sweet reunion. "I believed E.T. was real," she told them.

"I really loved [E.T.] in such a profound way," Barrymore added. "I would go and take lunch to him."

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