Michael Vartan Tells Drew Barrymore He Became Aroused While Kissing Her In ‘Never Been Kissed’

Michael Vartan says he lived out every young man’s worst fear while kissing Drew Barrymore in ‘Never Been Kissed’.

The Never Been Kissed cast reunited on The Drew Barrymore Show more than 22 years after the movie’s release, and Michael Vartan, 52, revealed the hilarious reason why his kiss with Drew Barrymore, 46, is one he’ll never forget.

After a clip of the kiss aired during the Sept. 13 episode of Drew’s talk show, he said, “I’ve got to say, I haven’t seen that clip in years and standing there I got emotional. This movie has been a huge part of my life. Every time I am stopped, it’s always Never Been Kissed. That’s a pretty amazing thing to be a part of and this reunion is just wonderful.”

Drew, who also invited cast members David Arquette and Molly Shannon on stage, asked Michael what his favorite memory from the 1999 movie was, and he said, “There’s a story about the famous scene that very few people know about. I get up to the mound, 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 and I am a man. I was a very young man back then, and I had feelings.”

Then, when he hinted at a physical reaction that came as a result of the kiss, Drew appeared flustered. He said, “The feelings were — they just happened — and I very quickly realized I was in a very bad spot because I was wearing very loose, like, slacks, and I thought, ‘This is going to be a disaster when they cut, I must preemptively end this’.”

“In a panic, I just yelled cut, and bent over and said, ‘Oh guys, sorry my back, I put my back out playing ball,'” he recalled. Drew smiled, and Michael explained that he “went off into a corner” and started “thinking horrible thoughts, like, you know, ‘dead puppies, dead puppies.'”

Michael said he was eventually able to calm himself, but the incident was “very embarrassing”.

“Luckily the subsequent scenes went on without a hitch,” he said, before laughing and adding: “You are a very good kisser.”

The 1999 movie follows Josie (Drew Barrymore), a 25-year-old investigative journalist who goes undercover at the local high school. She’s a former high school nerd who’s never been kissed before, so when sparks start flying with an English teacher (Michael Vartan), who believes she’s a student, things get tricky and oh so complicated.