PankajA-List Actor
“Pulp Fiction” may not have been big budget, but it had catapulted Travolta into an area of A-list movies with top actors. In the long string of successful films for which he was given top roles during the nineties included playing opposite Nicolas Cage as an FBI agent in the thriller, “Faceoff.”
He also played the role of a loan shark in “Get Shorty” and as an attorney in “Civil Action.” It wasn’t until the end of the nineties when John Travolta was cast as a presidential candidate who was similar in many ways to Bill Clinton in the movie “Primary Colors.” The role was demanding and challenging, and Travolta would have to make some drastic changes to his appearance to make the character believable.
Weight Gain
For his role in “Primary Colors” in 1998, for which he would be portraying a Presidential candidate similar to Bill Clinton, the directors, and producers thought it might be more believable if Travolta gained some weight to portray the role.
They asked him to gain about thirty pounds which was a departure from his slim and sleek physique in movies like “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever.” To make this happen, he said he got to binge-eat burgers and junk food, to which he admitted to enjoying. “It’s been fun gaining it,” he said. Of course, Travolta would eventually undo all of that “hard work” for future projects.
Oscars Embarrassment
When it comes to acting, you are always on the stage, but there is no bigger stage than the Academy Awards ceremony. Travolta managed to embarrass himself when in 2014 he introduced Idina Menzel as Adele Dazeem. Surely he’s learned to read and autocue by now? He received lots of criticism for his mistake, but he took it in good spirits and sent the singer his apologies with a large bouquet of flowers.
Menzel accepted his apology but got her own back the following year when the roles were reversed, and she introduced him as “Glom Gazino.” Everyone got a good laugh, but it got a bit uncomfortable when he joined her on stage and caressed her face. No one was quite sure what was going on, but everyone took it in good spirits.
Another Oscar Oops
This wasn’t the only time John Travolta would get himself into hot water. There was another unfortunate incident at the Oscars that same year when on the red carpet, Travolta approached Scarlett Johansson to give her a kiss hello just as she was being snapped by photographers. The result was an awkward-looking surprise kiss.
Johansson was quick to jump to the defense of John Travolta saying that within the context it was a welcome gesture and was very sweet. She continued on to say, “That still photo does not reflect what preceded and followed if you see the moment live.” They say a picture says a thousand words, but sometimes you need a few extra to explain things.
Gere’s Indebted to Travolta
Richard Gere says he is strangely indebted to John Travolta because some of his major roles were ones that were first offered to, and subsequently turned down by John Travolta. It wasn’t just one such role, but there were four significant films which included Gere’s breakout role in “American Gigolo.”
There were also roles in the films, “Days of Heaven” and “An Officer and a Gentleman.” Perhaps most famously, Travolta turned down a role to be in the adaptation of the Broadway musical, Chicago, a role which Gere gladly took and which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Of course, Gere gained these roles on his own merit, but it’s funny to think of what might have been for Travolta.
Nick Young Stole Travolta’s Swag
Aside from awards nominations and accolades, John Travolta also has a victory dance that was inspired by Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, Nick Young. Nick played for the Lakers between 2013-2017 and is known as “Swaggy P” which is short for, “The Prophet of Swag.” Aside from his incredible talent, whenever he scores off of a three-pointer, he will do a dance reminiscent of some John Travolta moves.
He claims that this was from a dream he had where God instructed him to be “a man going back and forth like John Travolta.”, something that we know John is very happy about as he says he “loves it” and thinks it’s “awesome!”