‘E.T.’ Star Dee Wallace Says She Fought to Tone Down Sexual Undertones in One Scene

• E.T. actress Dee Wallace revealed that she fought to tone down the sexual undertones in a scene in the iconic 1982 movie while appearing on the Still Here Hollywood podcast’s April 28 episode
• Wallace, 76, said that she “argued” with the film’s director, Steven Spielberg, pointing out that it was a “family film”
• She and Spielberg ultimately came to a compromise after consulting with the film’s writer and producer

E.T. was almost a little less family-friendly — at least according to actress Dee Wallace.

Wallace, who played Elliott’s mom, Mary, in the iconic 1982 movie, appeared on the April 28 episode of the Still Here Hollywood podcast. During the discussion with host Steve Kmetko, the actress revealed that there was almost a more risqué version of the movie.

“There’s a whole B story in E.T. about E.T. having a love affair with Mary, a love crush on Mary,” Wallace, 76, explained. “And there’s little bits of it left in there.”

“There was a scene where he came in to put Reese’s Pieces down on my bedside table as I’m asleep,” she continued. “Well, [the director] Mr. [Steven] Spielberg wanted the sheet a little lower than I was comfortable with.”

Wallace recalled that she told Spielberg she didn’t think it was the right choice for his movie.

“I argued my point that this was a family film,” she said, adding that it was “very pure to me.”

She said they ultimately consulted with the film’s writer, Melissa Mathison, and producer, Kathleen Kennedy, and came to a middle ground.

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“So we compromised and pulled the sheet up almost to my shoulder blades, which I was okay with,” Wallace concluded.

The Cujo star shared several other behind-the-scenes tidbits about the movie, including the fact that she knew costar Drew Barrymore — who was only 7 years old at the time — was destined for big things. 

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“​​You know — that kid — we knew from day one she was gonna be a producer and director,” she said. 

“I’m sitting in a high director’s chair, first day on set, and she comes up to me and she goes, ‘Dee, I’m going to sit in your lap now.’ And I said, ‘Okay, Drew, come on up.’ I mean, she just knew what she wanted, that one.”

Wallace also shared that she had a strong hunch that E.T. would be a hit early on.

“I could tell just from the way the audience responded,” she recalled of seeing the movie for the first time in a theater. “That film reaches into your soul, into your heart. It surpasses some block that we have and wakes us up.”