Michael Vartanis revealing a behind-the-scenes secret fromNever Been Kissed— one that even costarDrew Barrymoredidn’t know about.Tuesday’s episode ofThe Drew Barrymore Showfeatured a cast reunion for the 1999 rom-com, withMolly ShannonandDavid Arquettejoining host Barrymore, 46. After Barrymore played a clip of the iconic kiss between her and Vartan, 52, at the end of the film, he also ran up on stage.“I gotta say I haven’t seen that clip in years and standing there I got emotional,” Vartan said, as both he and Barrymore teared up.“This movie’s been a huge part of my life, every time I’m stopped it’s alwaysNever Been Kissed, so it’s a pretty amazing thing to be a part of and this reunion is just wonderful,” he continued, before Barrymore asked him if he had any “particular memories” from set.“Yeah, there’s a story about the famous scene that very few people know about and I’m not sure I should…” he said, adding to her, “You do not know about it.“He went on to admit that the kiss scene, which takes place on a baseball field, got a bit too real for him while they were filming.“So I get up to the mound, and we embrace and we start kissing and you really kissed me — I mean you really kissed me, I was not ready for it in the least,” he said. “And I’m a man, I was a very young man back then and I had feelings, the feelings just happened and I very quickly realized I was in a very bad spot because I was wearing very loose, sort of slacks.“Vartan continued, “I thought ‘This is going to be a disaster when they cut, I must preemptively end this,’ so what I did is in a panic I just yelled ‘Cut’ and bent over and said ‘Oh guys sorry my back, I put my back out playing ball.'““I went off into my corner and I was thinking horrible thoughts like you know ‘dead puppies, dead puppies, dead father, dead father’ and so finally I was able to compose myself and luckily the subsequent scenes went on without a hitch but that was — you were a very good kisser,” he concluded.Suzanne Hanover/20th Century Fox/Kobal/ShutterstockBarrymore, for her part, also recalled it being a particularly good kiss.“You know, you weren’t married at the time so yeah I went for it, because you were single and I felt like I wasn’t going to offend anybody,” she said, later adding, “You did something that for me is the ultimate in romance with a kiss, which is when you put your hands on a woman’s face.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Vartan also revealed he kept “a memento” from the movie, a small plant that Barrymore gave him as a wrap gift.“I kept it of course and over the years this thing was growing, at first it was this tiny little stem with a few leaves, and it started growing and growing, of course I named it Drew. It’s now 15, 16 feet tall,” he shared, showing a picture of the large tree.“I’ve literally kept a picture of Drew in my phone for 20 years on the odd chance I would run into you and say ‘Do you know what this is?'” he added.“That is really impressive and I think it’s a perfect metaphor for, maybe this film does keep growing and it stays connected,” Barrymore said.
Michael Vartanis revealing a behind-the-scenes secret fromNever Been Kissed— one that even costarDrew Barrymoredidn’t know about.
Tuesday’s episode ofThe Drew Barrymore Showfeatured a cast reunion for the 1999 rom-com, withMolly ShannonandDavid Arquettejoining host Barrymore, 46. After Barrymore played a clip of the iconic kiss between her and Vartan, 52, at the end of the film, he also ran up on stage.
“I gotta say I haven’t seen that clip in years and standing there I got emotional,” Vartan said, as both he and Barrymore teared up.
“This movie’s been a huge part of my life, every time I’m stopped it’s alwaysNever Been Kissed, so it’s a pretty amazing thing to be a part of and this reunion is just wonderful,” he continued, before Barrymore asked him if he had any “particular memories” from set.
“Yeah, there’s a story about the famous scene that very few people know about and I’m not sure I should…” he said, adding to her, “You do not know about it.”
He went on to admit that the kiss scene, which takes place on a baseball field, got a bit too real for him while they were filming.
“So I get up to the mound, and we embrace and we start kissing and you really kissed me — I mean you really kissed me, I was not ready for it in the least,” he said. “And I’m a man, I was a very young man back then and I had feelings, the feelings just happened and I very quickly realized I was in a very bad spot because I was wearing very loose, sort of slacks.”
Vartan continued, “I thought ‘This is going to be a disaster when they cut, I must preemptively end this,’ so what I did is in a panic I just yelled ‘Cut’ and bent over and said ‘Oh guys sorry my back, I put my back out playing ball.'”
“I went off into my corner and I was thinking horrible thoughts like you know ‘dead puppies, dead puppies, dead father, dead father’ and so finally I was able to compose myself and luckily the subsequent scenes went on without a hitch but that was — you were a very good kisser,” he concluded.
Suzanne Hanover/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Barrymore, for her part, also recalled it being a particularly good kiss.
“You know, you weren’t married at the time so yeah I went for it, because you were single and I felt like I wasn’t going to offend anybody,” she said, later adding, “You did something that for me is the ultimate in romance with a kiss, which is when you put your hands on a woman’s face.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Vartan also revealed he kept “a memento” from the movie, a small plant that Barrymore gave him as a wrap gift.
“I kept it of course and over the years this thing was growing, at first it was this tiny little stem with a few leaves, and it started growing and growing, of course I named it Drew. It’s now 15, 16 feet tall,” he shared, showing a picture of the large tree.
“I’ve literally kept a picture of Drew in my phone for 20 years on the odd chance I would run into you and say ‘Do you know what this is?'” he added.
“That is really impressive and I think it’s a perfect metaphor for, maybe this film does keep growing and it stays connected,” Barrymore said.
source: people.com
