More than 40 years have passed since audiences first watched a curious 10-year-old boy from Texas help his otherworldly companion return to the stars.
Now 44 years after its original release on 11 June 1982, Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is once again drawing attention. The family classic famously surpassed Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of its era, cementing its place as one of the defining blockbusters of the 1980s.
That renewed attention also raises a familiar question: where did the cast members go after sharing the screen with one of cinema’s most beloved extraterrestrials?
Henry Thomas was only 10 when he took on the role of Elliott, a performance that would shape the rest of his career while also bringing challenges he could not have anticipated.
His work in the film earned him a Golden Globe nomination, but the sudden public attention was difficult to navigate for a child growing up in a small community near San Antonio.
“I had no clue that my life would change in any way,” he told The Guardian in 2023.
“I worked on this movie, then I’m back on the farm, I’m back at school, but now people are pointing at me in the street.”
With his family unready for that level of attention, authorities were reportedly contacted multiple times after fans began showing up at their house.
Thomas is now 54 and has built a long list of credits, with roles in titles including Legends of the Fall and Gangs of New York. In more recent years, he found a new generation of fans through Mike Flanagan projects including The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass and The Fall of the House of Usher, in which he played Frederick Usher.
As the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike unfolded, and with three young children depending on him, he began weighing a major lifestyle change.
“I was really thinking of getting out of LA to start a farm and raise my kids there,” he admitted. He ultimately stayed in acting, continuing a career that has stretched from child stardom into steady character work in film and television.
Drew Barrymore was just seven when she played Gertie, Elliott’s memorable younger sister. The film helped launch her into a lifetime in the spotlight, and she has remained a familiar face ever since. Her career has included films such as Charlie’s Angels and 50 First Dates, a Golden Globe win for Grey Gardens, and eventually her own CBS daytime series, The Drew Barrymore Show, which in 2026 was renewed for two more seasons, taking it through season eight.
Beyond acting, Barrymore has also become an established producer, entrepreneur and bestselling author, turning early child-star fame into a broad entertainment and lifestyle career.
C. Thomas Howell, who appeared as Tyler, used E.T. as a springboard into a strong run of 1980s work, including The Outsiders, Red Dawn and Soul Man. He has continued acting consistently across film and television, with more recent appearances including The Walking Dead and a cameo in 1923.
Dee Wallace, remembered as Mary, the children’s mother, has also remained highly active. Since E.T., she has amassed a large number of screen credits, particularly in genre projects that reinforced her status as a horror favourite after films such as The Howling and Cujo. She has also written several self-help books and delivered a TEDx talk, The Common Ground of Self, in 2018.
Peter Coyote, who portrayed the government figure known as Keys, went on to become a distinguished narrator as well as a respected character actor. In 2015, he won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Narrator for his work on Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, and he has remained a familiar voice across documentaries ever since.
One of the more unexpected post-film paths belongs to K.C. Martel, who played Greg, one of Elliott’s older friends.
After his final screen credit on Growing Pains, Martel left acting behind and later moved into a career in wealth management.
Robert MacNaughton, who played Michael, Elliott’s older brother, also followed a less conventional route. Known for playing Dungeons & Dragons with Thomas during filming, with Spielberg reportedly wanting to take part, MacNaughton stepped away from Hollywood for long stretches before returning to acting years later. He later appeared alongside his wife, Bianca Hunter, in a pair of independent horror films, making his post-E.T. path one of the most unusual among the movie’s young cast.