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Where did the cast of E.T. end up

01:00 Mon 08th Apr 2002 |

A.� It was one of the biggest films of the 1980s and the remake version of E.T. attracted huge crowds over the Easter break, but what happened to the cast The film made icons of the stars, but it wasn't all glory and glitter afterwards.

Q.� What happened to Elliott

A.� The lonely Elliott was played by Henry Thomas in 1982. Thomas made such an impression as a wide-eyed sweetie crying over a space alien, he found it hard to get anything other than a soft role. He made a series of obscure movies - Misunderstood, Frog-Dreaming, Psycho IV - but in his 20s, he finally found a niche playing edgy supporting roles in films somewhere between mainstream Hollywood and the idie cinema. He won acclaim as a lover-on-the run in 1997's Niagara, Niagara and played Matt Damon's best friend in last year's Mexican epic All the Pretty Horses. He will appear on the screen again soon in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, out soon.

Gertie was played by Drew Barrymore, who at the time of the movie's first release, was being touted as the 80s answer to Shirley Temple. She was rumoured to have been earmarked as a future wife by her godfather, Steven Spielberg. She diced with drink and drugs and a series of rocky relationships. But in the mid-90s, Barrymore redeemed herself with roles in Batman Forever and Everyone Says I Love You. She scored a teen movie hit with Never Been Kissed, earned over �6 million in Charlie's Angels and will soon be headlining in the remake of Barbarella.

Elliott's mum, Mary, was played by Dee Wallace-Stone was picked as she had previously starred in The Stepford Wives, The Hills Have Eyes and 10. E.T. was to prove her finest hour. The actress has since starred in a series of flops, including Cujo, one of the lesser-known Stephen King adaptations, and The Frighteners, made by Peter Jackson before his Lord of The Rings triumph. She's also been in Fish Don't Blink, Invisible Mom 2 and FART: The Movie.

Michael was played by Robert MacNaughton, who these days is a postal worker in Phoenix, Arizona. He ended up in Phoenix in 1994 looking for theatre work after his television and film offers dried up.

E.T. the star himself had the world at his feet in 1982, and decided to cash in on his screen image. In the 1990s, he moved to London to appear in a string of "phone home" ads for British Telecom.

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By Katharine MacColl

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