Drew Barrymore Says Her Relationship with Adam Sandler Is 'Based in Love, Admiration and Humor'

"You know, I just I always believed in him so much," Drew Barrymore says of Adam Sandler

Drew Barrymore is gushing about her long-running friendship with friend and frequent costar Adam Sandler.

While discussing their onscreen chemistry before he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday, Barrymore, 48, told PEOPLE that their bond is "all based in like, love, admiration and humor."

"You know, I just always believed in him so much. And not that my opinion matters. But I just felt like, this is the guy," Barrymore said. "This is the one all us women were so in love with him on SNL and you know, I love Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, comedians create their own brand, their own flavor and scent and, you know, ideal around them, that is not easy to do."

"It's like creating a tapestry that is so distinct unto themselves. And I was so there for what Adam Sandler was putting out into the wild that I just wanted to be next to it," the actress, who has costarred with Sandler in movies like The Wedding Singer (1998), 50 First Dates (2004) and Blended (2014), continued.

"I wanted some place to put my admiration and I thought a film was the most safe and cathartic place to do it," Barrymore added of her working relationship with Sandler.

Related:Adam Sandler Given 'Props' by Chris Rock, Jennifer Aniston and More as He Receives Mark Twain Prize

Barrymore attended Sunday's event among a list of celebrities that included Jennifer Aniston, Chris Rock, Pete Davidson, Conan O'Brien, David Spade, Dana Carvey and Judd Apatow, who each toasted — and roasted — the star. The actress and talk show host joined Aniston, 54, on stage for a bit in which they joked that they will appear together in a movie without Sandler, 56.

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"We should do that movie that you and I have been talking about," Aniston said, to which Barrymore responded: "You mean the one where we don't need that goofy boyfriend?"

Work on The Drew Barrymore show has largely kept Barrymore away from movies in recent years, but she has suggested the potential to work with Sandler again could draw her back to the big screen.

Related:Lucy Liu Took 'Beautiful' Nude Portraits of Drew Barrymore in Charlie's Angels Dressing Room

"As soon as you talk about Adam Sandler, I'm like, 'Oh, well maybe. Sure,'" she told PEOPLE in December.

At that time, Barrymore noted that she was "terrified" to bring her then-eight month old daughter Olive to Africa to film Blended with Sandler, but she said she "did it because I feel so safe with Adam."

"That was the only person on the planet who could have gotten me to go do a film [at that time]. He's a family man," she added.

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