Drew Barrymore starred in the 1999 romantic comedy film Never Been Kissed, a role that she said she was asked to tone down after being considered “too unattractive.”
During a recent episode of her daytime talk show (via Variety), Barrymore — who was also a producer on the film under her Flower Films banner — revealed that she would receive calls from the studios producing the film telling her that her character was “too unattractive,” and that she had to tone it down.
“I was very stressed throughout the movie,” Barrymore said. “I was so scared during the whole film because I knew if it didn’t work, we weren’t going to get another chance. We had so much fun making it but I had to clench stomach the whole time. And I would get these calls from the studio and they were like, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re just looking too unattractive. Stop it.’ And I was like, ‘Good.’ And they were like, ‘No, no, no, no, no. It’s too far.’ So I was forced to even tone it down a little bit because I had gone even farther than that.”
Barrymore eventually agreed after studios said the heart of the movie may be sacrificed
In Never Been Kissed, Barrymore stars as Josie Geller, an insecure 25-year-old who has never had a real relationship. She’s tasked with going undercover in a high school and reverts back to her nerdy persona as she relives her original high school experience.
Barrymore said that, eventually, she agreed to the change after the studios appealed to her sensibilities rather than her ego. They explained to Barrymore they didn’t want the heart of the movie lost for the sake of comedy, which swayed the actress.
“I was like, ‘Great argument. Let me dial it back a little bit,’” Barrymore said. “And so Josie, what you see there, is me dialed back and it came out and it worked. And we got really lucky and I’m very, very grateful and I would walk around just going I can’t believe this worked. We’re gonna get a second shot.”
