Drew Barrymore reveals the movie prop she kept from her role in ET: 'I'm so glad I still have it'

Actress says prop reminds her of when she was six years old 

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Wednesday 30 September 2020 15:45 EDT
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Drew Barrymore reveals the movie prop she kept
Drew Barrymore reveals the movie prop she kept (AFP via Getty Images)

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Drew Barrymore has revealed the iconic movie prop she’s held onto for sentimental reasons.

In a new interview with Domino Kids for its first-ever issue, the actress was asked whether she still has any toys from her childhood.

According to Barrymore, she doesn’t have a toy, but rather the red cowboy hat she wore in ET when she was six - which she’s since given to her daughters Olive, eight, and Frankie, six.

Admitting that she is “absolutely terrible” at keeping things and loses “everything,” the 45-year-old said: “But I do have the red cowboy hat I wore in ET.

“It is in the girls' room somewhere and reminds me that I was six years old wearing that hat. I'm so glad I still have it."

The actress turned television host then reflected on the importance of the prop, telling the outlet: “When we’re kids, we don’t think something will be important to us one day; we clean out our room and throw stuff away. It’s nice if parents put something of theirs in their kids’ rooms, so it’s a transference of memories and energy.”

Barrymore starred in the Steven Spielberg film as Elliott's little sister Gertie in 1982.

During the interview, the mother-of-two also discussed what she’s gotten in return from her children, who she shares with her ex-husband Will Kopelman.

“The other day I told Olive that I thank her so much for making me a better person,” Barrymore said. “I know of all the relationships I’ve had - whether it was a boyfriend, a marriage, my own parents, my best friends who were my original family - no one has forced me to push myself to be a good person as much as my kids. The most accountable, the most stable, the most emotionally rational.

“It’s like they’re the catalysts; they have inspired me to change a lot of things about myself. Because it’s what I need to be for them.”

As for how she is handling parenting amid the coronavirus and a racial reckoning in the country, the 50 First Dates actress said she recently created a parenting series on Instagram because she “wanted to honour and acknowledge everything that’s happening.”

“This is not the time to promote things or talk about anything but the conversation at hand,” she said, adding that she has made protest signs with her daughters and purchased books about the importance of protesting for them to read together.

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