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Drew Barrymore played the role of Josie Geller in the romantic comedy, Never Been Kissed. While the 1999 film turned out to be one of the best works in her filmography, the actress has recently opened up on her experience while working on the project as she appeared on the Hey, Dude podcast.
She said—
"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. It's too far.' So I was forced to even tone it down a little bit because I had gone even farther, and then they said something that appealed to my sensibilities rather than my ego."
Drew had previously revisited her character during the MTV Movie & TV Awards last year. Although she did not appear at the event due to the WGA strike, her video was played for the audience where she visited the sets of different films and TV shows.
Drew Barrymore shared more details on how Never Been Kissed was made
The 49-year-old portrayed the role of Josie Geller in the film, who was a journalist. Barrymore's production company Flower Films was also linked to Never Been Kissed as it was their first project.
Drew Barrymore recalled the time when the film was being prepared, saying that it was hard for people to accept an actor as a producer. She also 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. So if you didn't make the film work and you produced it as an actor, you likely to not be able to do it again."
Furthermore, Drew Barrymore also decided to tone back on her character when the studio told her that they did not want her to "lose the heart" since she was breaking the boundaries with comedy. She addressed how she decided to tone down her character and added—
"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."
Notably, Never Been Kissed received a mixed reaction when it was released 25 years ago. However, it managed to become a cult classic with time. Back in 2020, the Scream star dressed up like her character from the film when she appeared on her talk show.
Exploring Drew Barrymore's character in Never Been Kissed
The basic premise of the film emphasized Josie Geller, portrayed by Drew Barrymore. She is employed at the Chicago Sun-Times. Her senior asked her to join the South Glen High School as an undercover so that parents could know everything about how their children are doing inside.
Geller eventually developed feelings for Sam Coulson, a teacher, and as she tried to adjust herself to the situation inside the school, her senior pressured her to develop a close friendship with the rest of the kids. Although Sam and Josie got close at one point, Sam battled with his feelings since he did not know about her real profession.
Never Been Kissed was helmed by Raja Gosnell and grossed around $84 million at the box office. It also had other well-known faces among the cast members, including David Arquette.
