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Wild Hogs: John Travolta interview
We caught up with Mr. John Travolta, Hollywood legend, when he flew over to London to talk about his new box-office smash Wild Hogs. John enlightened us on the perils of turbulence, dressing-up as a woman and dancing with Sean Connery (seriously).
LOVEFiLM: Do you think if you have a mid-life crisis you would do a similar thing to your character and try and escape? John Travolta: I felt like that my whole life, from the time I was a kid I always wanted to travel. Be it by plane, train, boat, motorcycle… I think if I ever do have a mid-life crisis I'll have all the toys I need to refer to quickly. There would be no need for shopping! LF: How do switch off in real-life? I'm a jet-junkie; I've always wanted to escape, ever since I was a kid. I think it changes you as a person. European's are good at that aren't they? Everyone's always running of to Spain for the weekend… LF: Speaking of flying, as a pilot have you ever got troubled by turbulence? Unless its severe and drastic conditions it's really nothing to worry about…[laughs] LF: In your list of iconic dance partners, is there any that stand out as your favourite? Sean Connery - as far as men are concerned - was my favourite dance partner. It was at this big, old Hollywood party, I was with my wife and we were about to leave and he comes up to me and goes [adopts impressive Scottish accent] 'John where y'going?', and I said 'I gotta go, I've got to work tomorrow', so he goes 'not before you dance with me you're not…' 
There I am dancing with James Bond in the middle of the dance floor, with everyone watching. Since Princess Diana I'm the hot ticket to dance with male or female… LF: Did you let Sean lead? [laughs] Being that he was my senior and Bond, I let him lead…I'm no fool! LF: As well as the lighter stuff you've got quite a dark film coming out called Lonely Hearts… You know I try to balance independent films with more commercial films and I've done a pretty good job of it over the years, but it's a very good movie. I don't think it's for everyone; it's a very dark story. It's James Gandolfini, myself, Salma Hayek and Jared Leto. It's a true-story about a couple, who basically seduced older women and he would marry them and they would kill them. It's very well done - but it's very dark… LF: We have a new TV series here in the UK, called Grease is the Word, which involves a nationwide search for the next Danny and Sandy - what would you say are the necessary qualities needed for the parts? Well, seeing that it's the play, they've got a wider spectrum of possibilities, he could be older or younger cause the stage forgives you know. But I think passion for it is the key. I adored that play before I did the movie - I was in the Broadway show - I just lived for it you know. As long as there not recasting the movie I don't care! [laughs] LF: Who would you cast in the role? Oh I don't know...Tim Allen. LF: In which role? 
Sandy [laughs] LF: You've got Hairspray coming up as well, is the world ready to see John Travolta in a frock? Oh wait until you see him, it's a sight to be seen, oh my goodness. I'm a big beautiful woman. When I was offered the part I said 'and why are you offering me this role?!' and they said 'well, you're know for your singing and dancing it's a funnier hook.' And I thought 'ok, you know…' I've seen about seventeen minutes of it and its pretty hilarious… it works as a comedy regardless of the music, which I love. LF: After the tremendous US success do you think we'll see a sequel to Wild Hogs? Ok, this is what happened… we all think the movie is going to do around $20million which is a very respectable amount for an opening weekend, it's a big success if you do that. But we wake up to $39.7million, which is breaking all the records in a row and it's turning people's heads. By Sunday night - the movie's been out two days - I get a call telling me that I'm getting an offer for the sequel on Monday; I was like 'come on! Lets us enjoy a week!' So, we say, well let's see a script and see what happens, I know the boys want to be together again. Sequels are tricky y'know and you have to be smart with them, regardless of the success of the first one. But it would be fun to be with the boys again… LF: Talking about tricky, was the insurance hard to get with this film? Yes! Very. Helen Cowley Titles related to this articleRelated/similar articles
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