Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio reveals he met Drew Barrymore at E.T. auditions when she was just six

Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio revealed that he first met Drew Barrymore when she was just six years old back in 1981. 

Ralph, 59, recalled the meeting to Drew, 45, on a new episode of her own talk show this week – as she had no memory of it herself.

They were both auditioning for the 1982 movie E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial which went onto make Barrymore a huge child star. 

‘Now is it true that we saw each other at the E.T. auditions?’ asked Drew, who was born into the famous Barrymore acting dynasty.

‘Yes, what it was I was offered the possibility of playing the role of Tyler, I think that was the character’s name, and C. Thomas Howell, my Outsiders greaser buddy Pony Boy actually played that part but we wanted to read the script so they said: “Oh you have to go into Spielberg’s office, you can’t have the script and read it,”‘ he said.  

‘I’m sitting there by myself under lock and key reading E.T. when this little adorable girl comes up to me and says: “Hi I’m Drew what part are you playing?”‘ added Ralph.

‘I was half enamored by this adorable little girl and then the other side of my brain was like: “Kid they told me I have an hour to read this and I’ve got to get through it.”‘

Ralph was 19 years old at the time he auditioned unsuccessfully for E.T. but was only a couple of years away from stardom himself.

In 1984 he played the title character in the international smash hit The Karate Kid and continued on in the role for two sequels.

His current gig on Cobra Kai is in fact a spin-off of The Karate Kid and sees him playing the same character in middle age. 

The year after E.T. came out Ralph was seen with C. Thomas Howell in Francis Ford Coppola’s high school movie The Outsiders based on the book of the same name.

His cast-mates included such icons-to-be as Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze as well as names like Diane Lane and Matt Dillon.