E.T. Behind‑the‑Scenes Fact “Cigarettes got me the part.”

E.T. Behind‑the‑Scenes Fact “Cigarettes got me the part.” - C. Thomas Howell

"I've seen enough, you're fantastic!" - Steven Spielberg

One of the great stories from E.T. the Extra‑Terrestrial is how a young C. Thomas Howell ended up playing Tyler, one of the boys in Michael's friend group. According to Howell, the role originally belonged to “a Mormon kid” but when the parents discovered the character had to smoke a cigarette on screen, they pulled him from the production.

Suddenly, the door opened for Howell who wasn’t a smoker at all to step into a Spielberg film no less.

“I learned to smoke cigarettes on the ride to the audition.” said Howell.

In one retelling, Howell says that when he arrived at Steven Spielberg’s office, the director asked him straight out whether he could smoke. Howell, determined to prove he could handle the scene, pulled out a pack of Marlboros and put one between his lips. Before he could even strike a match, Spielberg stopped him. “I’ve seen enough, you’re fantastic.”

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