Barrymore used her producer clout on day-one of shooting to veto a studio-mandated “booger gag,” letting Whalen improvise the entire bar scene that became a fan-favorite moment in the 1999 rom-com.
The booger that almost broke Merkin
According to Whalen, the first shot of his first day was scripted to show Josie’s awkward assistant picking his nose. “Drew looked at the director and said, ‘We’re not even going to film that—the studio will lock it in and Sean’s work is gone,’ ” the actor told People. The line never made it to dailies, and Whalen’s dignity—and the character’s eventual cult status—remained intact.
From milk mustache to rom-com legend
Whalen had already entered pop-culture history as the first “Got Milk?” kid in 1993. Landing Merkin Burns six years later looked like a standard bit part on paper: fetch coffee, deliver exposition, exit. Barrymore and her producing partner Nancy Juvonen saw more. “They handed me the wardrobe rack and said, ‘Build him,’ ” Whalen recalls. The result—tightly buttoned cardigans, pocket protector, nervous giggle—became the template for every lovable cinematic nerd that followed.
The bar scene that wasn’t on the page
Script drafts called for Merkin to sip a soda while Josie panics. Instead, Barrymore told Whalen, “Just go.” He launched into a freestyle dance that ended with him sliding across the counter. Director Raja Gosnell kept the cameras rolling; the studio kept the moment in the final cut. “That single take is why people still shout ‘Merkin!’ at me in airports,” Whalen says.
Why this matters in 2026
Hollywood’s current conversation about on-set autonomy and performer respect is reframing stories like Whalen’s as case studies. Barrymore’s early advocacy—before the #MeToo era—shows how actors with production leverage can protect creative space for collaborators. Whalen credits that shield with launching his second act: coaching performers at Playhouse West and directing indie shorts where improvisation is policy, not a perk.
Fast facts: Never Been Kissed by the numbers
- Global box office: $84.5 million on a $25 million budget People
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72%
- Merkin screen time: 7 minutes, 34 seconds
- Lines that survived untouched from the script: zero
Streaming numbers spike every spring when high-school prom season hits, and TikTok duets of Merkin’s bar slide rack up fresh millions. Barrymore has never taken public credit, but Whalen makes sure every class he teaches hears the story. “Protect your scene partners,” he tells them. “Drew did it before hashtags existed.”
For lightning-fast entertainment breakdowns you won’t find anywhere else, keep reading onlytrustedinfo.com—where the first take is the final word.
