Steven Spielberg remembers 6-year-old Drew Barrymore was an improv pro on set of ‘E.T.’

Drew Barrymore is seen here in 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.' (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images via CNN)

Even at six years old, Drew Barrymore had a lot to say.

Director Steven Spielberg opened up about working with Barrymore on the 1982 classic “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” during a conversation on Saturday at the TCM Classic Film Festival’s 92NY event. The pair reminisced about their time together on the set, with Spielberg saying he was most impressed by his young star’s ability to improv.

“The camera was rolling and Drew said, ‘I don’t like his feet.’ We used it,” Spielberg recounted at the event, according to People. “Drew made up a lot of her own dialogue because she was irrepressible.”

The director added that Barrymore’s improvisational skills were “gold” and he went on to recall how the film’s screenwriter Melissa Matheson, too, “couldn’t believe the stuff that Drew was coming up with.” Matheson died in 2015.

Barrymore, with the passage of time, shared the same sentiment.

“I can’t believe the stuff I came up with,” she said, adding that she was surprise by how many of her improved lines ended up in the final cut.

The tear-jerker won four Oscars in 1982, including best visual effects and original score. It was a massive hit, drawing in more than $359 million at the US box office at the time, according to Box Office Mojo.

Barrymore previously said on a 2020 episode of her morning talk show “The Drew Barrymore Show” that even as a child, she was precocious enough to snag a keepsake from set.

“I do have the red cowboy hat I wore in E.T. It is in the girls’ room somewhere and reminds me that I was 6 years old wearing that hat,” Barrymore said. “I’m so glad I still have it.”

Barrymore added, “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.”

Alli Rosenbloom, CNN