Drew Barrymore was left ‘scared’ after studio told her she went ‘too far’ while filming Never Been Kissed

Actor and producer starred in the 1999 romantic as a socially awkward young journalist who has to infiltrate her former high school while posing as a student

Drew Barrymore has revealed for the first time that she was left “scared” while shooting her movie Never Been Kissed, as she was told she made herself “too unattractive”.

The Hollywood actor was asked to dress down and play up the more uncool elements of her look in order to portray Josie Geller, a socially awkward young journalist who goes undercover at her local high school to find out how modern teenagers behave.

She initially struggles to fit in due to her traumatic experiences while she was a real student, who was bullied for being smart and unpopular.

However, the actor who now hosts The Drew Barrymore Show, was told she was taking instructions to look unappealing “too far”.

“I would get these calls from the studio and they were like, ‘I’m sorry, but you’re just looking too unattractive.’ And I was like, ‘good.’ And they were like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no.’ They were like, ‘It’s too far,’” recalled Barrymore in an interview for the Hey, Dude podcast.

She recalls being “forced to even tone it down a little bit because I had gone even farther than they were.”

The studio gave her some advice that “appealed to [her] sensibilities rather than [her ego]”, and suggested she not “lose the heart because you’re going so far for the comedy”.

The movie marked the actor’s first project under her production company Flower Films. While the movie went on to become a success, the 50 First Dates actor says that she was left terrified the whole time as she felt her company weren’t “going to get another chance” if their endeavour failed.

Barrymore played socially awkward high school student Josie Geller (Getty Images)

She reports feeling “so scared” and having to “clench [her] stomach the whole time”.

“I was very stressed throughout the movie,” she admitted, as she revealed it was the first time she had said so publicly.

“What you see [in Never Been Kissed] is me dialed back and it came out and it worked and we got really lucky,” she said.

The film ended up grossing $85 million, more than triple its $25 million budget. Barrymore’s company Flower Films, went on to produce further classics, allaying Barrymore’s fears of an end.

Barrymore delighted fans by reprising the role for the MTV Awards in May last year.

Donnie Darko, 50 First Dates, Charlie’s Angels, and its sequels were all produced by the production company and went on to success the box office.