During her recent visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore took a nostalgic journey back to her first appearance on the show at the tender age of seven. The actress, now 49, was visibly moved as she watched a clip from 1982 when she was interviewed by the legendary Johnny Carson.

Reflecting further on her childhood, Barrymore discussed her iconic role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which she starred in at the same age she made her Tonight Show debut. "I think E.T. was definitely, sort of, my first imaginary friend that I also knew wasn't real,” she recalled.

“I fully understood, but I think we need to project a matter of a belief system in things. Whether it's imaginary or very real and tangible, it's part of a survival mechanism, as well as just an absolute pleasure to identify things that make us feel good, that we feel like believe in us, like we believe in them.” E.T. approaches its 42nd anniversary this December 9th 2024.