Steven Spielberg’s several films have been inspired by his life events, but one movie stands out for both drawing from his personal experiences and significantly impacting his life.
The filmmaker has shared that the 1982 sci-fi film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was inspired by his parent’s divorce. He later revealed that working on the film also ignited his desire to become a father, placing parenthood prominently on his vision board.
Steven Spielberg Did Not Consider Being a Father Until E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
While Steven Spielberg is now a proud father of seven, he didn’t always want children. His perspective changed while working on one of his most acclaimed films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie, the filmmaker was asked if he had considered fatherhood before working with child actors in the hit classic. He explained that with his demanding work schedule and lifestyle, the idea never made sense to him.
No. I didn’t want to have kids because it was not a kind of equation that made sense for me as I went from movie to movie, script to script.
However, his perspective changed midway through the production of E.T. and he began to reconsider parenthood. “It never occurred to me till halfway through E.T.,” he told Variety.
It was the cast of the film, which included child actors like Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas, and Mike McNaughton, that sparked the filmmaker’s desire to become a father for the first time.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Cast Inspired The Director’s Path to Fatherhood
Working closely with young talents such as Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas, and Mike McNaughton on set, Spielberg developed a strong sense of protectiveness, particularly towards Barrymore, who was only six years old at the time.
“I was a parent on that film. I was literally feeling like I was very protective of… my whole cast,” he said. The newfound sense of responsibility and care sparked a change in Spielberg’s perspective.
And I started thinking, ‘Well, maybe this could be my real life someday.’… maybe I could be a dad. And maybe in a way, a director is a dad or a mom.
He shared that it was the first time the thought of being a father crossed his mind. Three years after E.T. became a box office phenomenon, grossing $792 million worldwide, Spielberg welcomed his first child, Max Spielberg, with his ex-wife Amy Irving in 1985.
“I have seven kids and six grandchildren, so E.T. worked for me very well,” he said during his conversation. Following his divorce from Irving, Spielberg married Kate Capshaw, becoming a father to her children Jessica Capshaw and Theo Spielberg.
The couple later expanded their family with four more children; Sasha Spielberg, Sawyer Spielberg, Mikaela Spielberg, and Destry Spielberg.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is available to stream on Prime Video.
