Since the production of "E.T.," Steven Spielberg has played a significant fatherly role in Drew Barrymore's life. However, when Barrymore, at the age of 7, asked Spielberg to be her real father, he declined the request. Barrymore revealed to Vulture that Spielberg remains "the only person in my life to this day that ever was a parental figure." Following Spielberg's refusal, he did agree to become her godfather. Recalling the time they were filming the 1982 movie, Spielberg expressed a sense of helplessness regarding Barrymore's troubled home life. He witnessed her staying up beyond her bedtime, experiencing situations that were far beyond her years, and being deprived of a normal childhood. Spielberg shared with Vulture, "Yet I felt very helpless because I wasn't her dad. I could only kind of be a consigliere to her." Barrymore's biological father, the late actor John Drew Barrymore, was known for his abusive and alcoholic behavior.