Drew Barrymore: 5 Awesome Performance And 5 That Sucked

4. Charlene "Charlie" McGee - Firestarter (1984)

Stephen King's books haven't always fared too well when it comes to bringing them to life on the big screen, and the 1980s in particular saw more than a few of his novels bastardised en route to the multiplex. Firestarter might not be the greatest King adaptation of all time, but when held up alongside the likes of Cujo and the King-directed Maximum Overdrive it stands as a solid - if flawed - thriller in which Drew Barrymore plays a young girl with the power of pyrokinesis protected by her father as mysterious government agents try to capture her and use her for her skills. It's a demanding role for any actor, and the young Barrymore manages to elicit the shift from innocent child to agent of destruction well, especially when you consider that she was just 9 when the film was made.