29 Surprising Facts About 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' You Don't Know

Carlo Rambaldi, the special effects wizard who brought E.T. to life, won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on the film. The Italian artist crafted other classic movie creatures, like King Kong and Alien.

Funny story: The film's sound designer overheard a woman in a camera store and knew she had just the right pitch. Her name was Pat Walsh, a Californian housewife who smoked a reported two packs of cigarettes a day, giving her voice that recognizable raspy tone.

It can be tricky to cast the lead in any movie ⁠— especially when the actor carrying the film is a 10-year-old boy. In 2012, Henry told Today that during his audition, he was able to drum up some tears by thinking about his dog that just passed, noting, "I finished my scene, and they were in tears, and Steven says, 'Kid, you got the job.'"

While Steven Spielberg was in pre-production for E.T., he was also working on the 1982 horror classic, Poltergeist. Drew tested for the lead role of Carol Anne (which went to Heather O'Rourke). After the audition, Spielberg said Drew wasn't right for the horror movie, but he had another role for her.

In order to capture authenticity, Steven Spielberg requested real doctors and nurses be used in the film. To ensure the dialogue was genuine, they were told to treat E.T. like they would a normal (ahem, human) patient.

The film had a production budget of $10.5 million (roughly $30 million today) — and 10% went to alien creature puppets and related animatronics.

For the most part, E.T. came to life by way of a puppet, but the crew also crafted a version fit with animatronics. And in a few scenes, real actors (the late Pat Bilon and a then-11-year-old Matthew DeMeritt) donned a rubber E.T. costume.

Harrison Ford, who previously collaborated with Steven Spielberg on Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, had a small role in the film as Elliott's school principal. However, his scene was left on the cutting room floor.

Not long after the first film came out, Steven Spielberg and writer Melissa Mathison wrote a nine-page treatment for a sequel titled E.T. 2: Nocturnal Fears. The follow-up saw Elliott and his friends get kidnapped by evil aliens, with E.T. returning to save them. The biggest bombshell in the script? E.T.'s name is Zrek.

In an effort to capture authentic emotions from the young actors — especially at the end when they say goodbye to E.T. — Steven Spielberg filmed the movie in chronological order.

The first time Drew's character, Gertie, sees E.T., she says, "I don't like his feet." Steven Spielberg adored the line so much, which was 6-year-old Drew's genuine reaction to the puppet, he decided to keep it in the film.

After the film raked in blockbuster returns, its young lead, Henry Thomas, found himself an overnight star. Years later, the actor told The Mirror, "I was like a circus freak. But the only time I had to deal with it was when I left the house. So I stopped leaving the house. I became an 11-year-old hermit."

E.T. was the first major film Henry Thomas worked on — but not his last. You might recognize him from roles in Gangs of New York and The Haunting of Hill House.

Henry Thomas revealed he received minimum wage to work on the project. However, he still gets residual checks!

It's typical for stars to take home a prop or two when a film wraps. Henry went with the iconic red sweater worn by his character, Elliott.

Even after all these years, the actress has managed to hold on to the red cowboy hat her character wears in the film. She now keeps it in her daughter's room as a sweet reminder.

Musician Tom Meighan, frontman of the UK rock band Kasabian, shelled out nearly $12,000 to purchase one of the original bikes. Another major prop — one of the original E.T. animatronics — found a home on display in an Italian museum, with more of special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi's work.

Imagine walking up to a movie theater and requesting one ticket for A Boy's Life. That's what moviegoers would have said if the title wasn't changed during production.

Actress Dee Wallace, who Steven Spielberg cast as Mary Taylor, has a long list of scary movies on her resume. She starred in horror classics, such as Cujo, Halloween and The Hills Have Eyes.

When it came time to shoot, however, Steven Spielberg had a change of heart and pulled him out of the movie. Feeling bad for the last-minute switch up, the director got Cory a job on another one of his films, Gremlins, in 1984.