John Travolta
Birthday: 18 February 1954, Englewood, New Jersey, USA
Birth Name: John Joseph Travolta
Height: 188 cm
John Joseph Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey, one of six children of Helen Travolta (née Helen Cecilia Burke) and Salvatore/Samuel J. Travolta. His father was of Italian descent and his mot ...Show More
When they asked me to be Edna Turnblad I said, "Gee, 32 years as a leading man -- why me? What makes Show more
When they asked me to be Edna Turnblad I said, "Gee, 32 years as a leading man -- why me? What makes you think I'd be the perfect woman?". Hide
As you get older, you have to force yourself to have new dreams. For instance, I've been flying for Show more
As you get older, you have to force yourself to have new dreams. For instance, I've been flying for 37 years but now teaching others to fly is interesting for me. Sometimes, you have to find new angles on life to keep you interested, like sharing successes and inspiring and helping others. You have to go out of your way to activate your dreams and keep them going in this third chapter of your life. Hide
I don't think I'm very cool as a person. I'm just better than anyone else at acting cool.
I don't think I'm very cool as a person. I'm just better than anyone else at acting cool.
One's own life is not as colourful as a character that's created in a movie because they go through Show more
One's own life is not as colourful as a character that's created in a movie because they go through a million colours in a short period of time. In one's own life, it may take four years to go through those colours. Hide
I have fame on the level of a Marilyn Monroe or an Elvis Presley, but part of the reason I didn't go Show more
I have fame on the level of a Marilyn Monroe or an Elvis Presley, but part of the reason I didn't go the way they did was because of my beliefs. People make judgments about Scientology, but often they don't know what they're talking about. Hide
[on his role as Edna in Hairspray (2007)] It was tough dancing in high heels, but we did change the Show more
[on his role as Edna in Hairspray (2007)] It was tough dancing in high heels, but we did change the heels to more of a dance shoe - like a Capezio. You know they kept giving me these skinny high heels and it's like, "Okay, I understand those. My mother wore those." However, when I was growing up and I saw girls in the chorus, they had a thicker heel and it was a dance shoe and I kept telling them to find those shoes. I knew they existed, and finally they brought out a shoe and I said, "That's the shoe! Now make it in many colors.". Hide
My best quality? The transparency in my eyes. I only have to think a thought and it's seen.
My best quality? The transparency in my eyes. I only have to think a thought and it's seen.
I watched this Fellini movie when I was five called La Strada (1954) and I said to my father: "Why d Show more
I watched this Fellini movie when I was five called La Strada (1954) and I said to my father: "Why did Giulietta Masina die?" and he said: "She died of a broken heart." "You can die of a broken heart?" He said: "Yes, you can be so sad that you can die of a broken heart." "Without being ill?" He said: "Yes!" It changed my whole life. I never wanted to break anyone's heart, for sure! But it made me consider that. Most kids were considering other things; I was considering Giulietta Masina in a Fellini film. Hide
To be honest, I thought "Pulp" would have the same fate as Reservoir Dogs (1992), meaning it would b Show more
To be honest, I thought "Pulp" would have the same fate as Reservoir Dogs (1992), meaning it would be an art house movie that would have a smaller audience. I never thought it would have a mainstream audience; I thought it was too unique of a movie to hit a commercial note. And when it did, it surprised all of us, I think, because we were going to be fine with it having the same success as Reservoir Dogs. But that it would become Forrest Gump (1994) was a whole other idea. Hide
[2014] My films have an interesting continuous effect. Grease (1978) for some reason never went away Show more
[2014] My films have an interesting continuous effect. Grease (1978) for some reason never went away. Do you know that to this day, every year, the Hollywood Bowl charges $275 a ticket to sit in an audience with a 36-year-old film and sing along to it? I've never heard of anything like that in my life. So there is some magic to that particular film. There's other films like The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Gone with the Wind (1939) that don't end either, but this has a continuous new audience, as opposed to, "oh, that's an old movie". No one looks at Grease as an old movie. It just keeps on living. That's how I view it, as a gift to the public and myself as an ongoing thing. Hide
[2014] In the old days, you didn't do a movie three times a year; you did a movie once every year an Show more
[2014] In the old days, you didn't do a movie three times a year; you did a movie once every year and a half or every three years. You had a lot of time between films. I remember taking violin lessons, painting lessons, French lessons, you know, to fill my time. Otherwise you get in trouble. But the memories of all the films are wonderful. Hide
[on the death of Robin Williams] I've never known a sweeter, brighter, more considerate person than Show more
[on the death of Robin Williams] I've never known a sweeter, brighter, more considerate person than Robin. Robin's commitment as an artist to lifting our mood and making us happy is compared to none. He loved us all and we loved him back. Hide
Every time I did an interview after Moment by Moment (1978), they went right for the negative things Show more
Every time I did an interview after Moment by Moment (1978), they went right for the negative things first. I feel that the criticism after the film became abusive. It went beyond mere criticism. You would have thought Lily (Tomlin) and I had committed murder. I thought, my God, don't ever do a movie people don't like; they'll murder you. Hide
[on dancing with Princess Diana at the White House in 1985] There really was something lovely and gi Show more
[on dancing with Princess Diana at the White House in 1985] There really was something lovely and girlish about her and I felt that I had taken her back to her childhood when she had probably watched Grease (1978) and for that moment I was her Prince Charming. Hide
[on his role in Carrie (1976)]: I wanted to work with Brian De Palma. I knew the film would be inter Show more
[on his role in Carrie (1976)]: I wanted to work with Brian De Palma. I knew the film would be interesting and attract a lot of attention. Hide
There is nothing gay in this movie (Hairspray (2007)). I'm not playing a gay man. Scientology is not Show more
There is nothing gay in this movie (Hairspray (2007)). I'm not playing a gay man. Scientology is not homophobic in any way. In fact, it's one of the more tolerant faiths. Anyone's accepted. Hide
[on Saturday Night Fever (1977)]: I love being regarded as a sex symbol, but I can't take it too ser Show more
[on Saturday Night Fever (1977)]: I love being regarded as a sex symbol, but I can't take it too seriously. Hide
[on the death of his teenage son Jett] The worst thing that's ever happened in my life. The truth is Show more
[on the death of his teenage son Jett] The worst thing that's ever happened in my life. The truth is, I didn't know if I was going to make it. Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better. Hide
[on being cast in Pulp Fiction (1994)] There was a rumor that a young new director who had directed Show more
[on being cast in Pulp Fiction (1994)] There was a rumor that a young new director who had directed a film called Reservoir Dogs (1992) was quite interested in working with me. And his name was Quentin Tarantino. I said, "Sounds good. He's talented. I saw the movie. I would love to meet him, too." After six or seven hours of hanging out, he verbally presented two ideas to me. One was the vampire movie From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and the other one was Pulp Fiction. I responded to Pulp Fiction but I didn't respond to From Dusk Till Dawn, and he noticed that. So at the end of the meeting he said, "I'm curious. You seem to like the Pulp Fiction one, but you did not respond as much to the other." I said, "Well, it's simple, Quentin. I'm just not a vampire guy.". Hide
[on his plans for after the 2014 Oscars ceremony] I don't drink very much, but I wait until Oscar ni Show more
[on his plans for after the 2014 Oscars ceremony] I don't drink very much, but I wait until Oscar night to have my drinks. So now I'm ready to stay out until five in the morning. We're gonna do Vanity Fair, then we're gonna do Madonna's party, and we're gonna have fun tonight. I'm not gonna be happy until we see the sun rise. Hide
My mother was an acting teacher. She taught more of the existentialist style, which was that acting Show more
My mother was an acting teacher. She taught more of the existentialist style, which was that acting is believing that you're in the moment with the other actor, and I like that. I'm more comfortable portraying what I'm feeling at the moment and not knowing what I'm going to do next. Hide
[on how the late James Gandolfini consoled him after the death of his son] James went out of his way Show more
[on how the late James Gandolfini consoled him after the death of his son] James went out of his way to come to Florida and he would not leave Florida until I was okay, or he felt that I would be fine. After a week I said, 'Jim you can really, you can, you know, we'll be fine. I've got a lot of support here.' But the idea that in our profession someone would go out of their way and not want to leave you until he felt you were okay, that's the kind of soul that James Gandolfini was. My father sold tires to his father. I was his inspiration to get into the business. He would see pictures of me on the wall from movies and he decided that he wanted to be an actor. He was a people person first and then everything else. He was this beautiful man and I love him very much. Hide
John Travolta's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (189)
John Travolta'S roles
Vincent Vega
George Malley
Howard Saint
James
Edna Turnblad
Louis Pinnock
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