“They were like, ‘We don’t want you to lose the heart because you’re going so far for the comedy.'”
When it comes to memorable roles, Drew Barrymore has done it all.
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One of her most beloved turns was in the 1999 film Never Been Kissed, as reporter-turned-undercover high school student Josie Geller.
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If you’ve seen the film, you know Josie was bullied in high school. The film shows us some flashbacks revealing as much, and Drew plays young Josie in the flashbacks as well.
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During a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show with Hey Dude… the 90s Called! hosts David Lascher and Christine Taylor, Drew revealed that her initial depiction of Josie was deemed “too unattractive” by the studio.
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“I would get these calls from the studio, and they were like, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re just looking too unattractive,'” she said, claiming she was told “it’s too far” when it came to the look she cultivated for young Josie.
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“I was forced to even tone it down a little bit because I had gone even farther,” she claimed, “and then they said something that appealed to my sensibilities rather than my ego.”
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“They were like, ‘We don’t want you to lose the heart because you’re going so far for the comedy,’ and I was like, ‘Great argument. Let me dial it back a little bit.'”
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“So Josie, what you see there, is me dialed back.”
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Drew also explained that, since she was a producer on the film, making sure everything was in place for achieving success was of utmost importance. “At that time, people were very wary of actors being producers,” she said. “A lot of it wasn’t necessarily working and it didn’t mean because you’re an actor, you knew how to produce a film, and it was about the economics.”
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“So if you didn’t make the film work and you produced it as an actor, you were likely to not be able to do it again, and I was very stressed throughout the movie.”
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“I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody this. This is the first time I’ve ever admitted this: I was so scared during the whole film because I knew if it didn’t work, we weren’t going to get another chance.”
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