Phone who?

Did you know …

That the eponymous character of “E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial” was not a real alien?

It’s true! The Extra-terrestrial, also known as E.T., wasn’t a real alien. “He” was actually a hybrid between a puppet and a costume! E.T.’s body was made of wet leather wrapped around a chicken-wire frame. Inside the frame was a stool and a network of strings controlling the construction’s limbs and head.

Several children were first cast to operate the E.T., under the assumption that they would relate better to the many child actors of the film. Upon being told that they would not be included in the end credits, the E.T. operators became jealous of the featured children and sabotaged multiple scenes. A loosened wheel on Elliot’s bicycle even resulted in several lost teeth. This behavior, combined with difficult child labor laws, eventually led the filmmakers to replace the child operators with adult little people.

Why didn’t the film use a real alien in the part? No one knows!

Bonus fact: E.T.’s famous glowing heart (pictured above) was actually an accident! During the filming of that scene the actor inside was attempting to light a cigarette and accidentally set the interior of the costume on fire! Yowch!

He died right away.