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Top 10 John Travolta

Carrie (1976)

Like many others before him, Hollywood heavyweight John Travolta, wasn’t always a major player in Tinseltown. In the early years Travolta was forced to follow the Hollywood rite of passage - also known as signing up to the slasher movie - by lending his talents to the film adaptation of Steven King’s horror novel, Carrie. Famous for its graphic take on the terrors of being a teenager, Carrie follows one girl’s (Sissy Spacek) hell through high school. In the final scenes of the film, Travolta's character, Billy, sets Carrie up for a soaking by dropping a bucket of pig’s blood over her.

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Travolta’s defining moment came in 1977 when director John Badham, decided to cast him in the starring lead as jive talking, smooth walking Tony Manero. Having already starred in the on-stage productions of Grease and Over Here! on Broadway, Travolta put his theatrical talents to good use, in this 1970’s disco classic. Kitted out in white bell-bottom flares and an oozing confidence, Travolta strutted his stuff on the dance floor to the Beegees’ track Staying Alive - a scene which earned Travolta iconic status and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Grease (1978)

Complete with a slicked back hair-do and leather T-Birds jacket, John Travolta reined as king of the musical in 1978's Grease. The film saw an all-singing all-dancing cast focus on the lives and loves of a group of teenagers in the 1950s. Grease opted for a tongue in cheek approach to some hard hitting issues, throwing the odd harmony into the mix. Starring opposite Olivia Newton John, Travolta showed off impressive vocals, to the tune of ‘Sandy’, ‘You're the One That I Want’ and ‘Grease Lightnin'’, to name but a few. This feel good film remains a firm favourite in households today.

Look Who's Talking (1989)

Look Who’s Talking places Travolta at the centre of a baby’s world. Director, Amy Heckerling decided to put a spin on everyday family life by throwing some baby banter into the mix. The film follows the musings of a baby Bruce Willis – or a baby voiced by Bruce – as he spends time with his mum, Mollie Jensen (Kirstie Alley) and her potential love interest (Travolta). The film’s massive success went onto spawn two sequels; Looking Who’s Talking Too and Look Who’s Talking Now, both with Travolta starring. In the closing moments of Look Who’s Talking, Joan Rivers was brought in to voice baby Julie, but Heckerling kept her identity a secret in the credits, instead giving her the ambiguous title, “Baby Guess”.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, has been credited for re-launching Travolta’s flagging career, and for good reason. Paired with Samuel L Jackson as hit men, Vince and Jules, Tarantino’s razor sharp dialogue and stylish visuals elevated Travolta out of the doldrums of trite dramas and poor sequels. It also reminded audiences that Travolta can dance, sparring with partner Uma Thurman in that iconic dance off. Paying homage to an amalgamation of movies and pop culture references Tarantino’s classic gave Travolta the credibility he needed to take on wider ranging roles. The role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Get Shorty (1995)

Based on a novel of the same name, Get Shorty sees Travolta play loan shark Chili Palmer, alongside Danny DiVito in this crime fuelled comedy caper, centering around the Hollywood film industry. Travolta was said to have been disinterested in the project until close pal Quentin Tarantino urged him to read the book. After taking up Tarantino’s recommendation, Travolta realised there were major parts missing from the screenplay and told the studios he was willing to sign up, as long as they put them back in.

Face/Off (1997)

Travolta teamed up with director John Woo and Nicolas Cage, as Sean Archer and Castor Troy in this 1997 thriller. For the first half of the film Travolta plays all-American good guy, FBI agent Sean Archer opposite terrorist Caster Troy (Cage). However, in a radical twist; Troy comes up with a plan to swap his face with Archer via an advanced surgical procedure. It may sound a bit farfetched, but Woo’s twisted tale of double identity is on a whole other level, with Travolta and Cage having each other’s mannerisms down to a tee.

Thin Red Line (1998)

Based on a novel of the same name, The Thin Red line follows the conflicted feelings of a group of soldiers during World War II. With acclaimed director Terrance Malick (Badlands) at the helm, the screenplay attracted the interest of some major players in the industry such as; Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Peter Berg and Dermot Mulroney. Malick managed to narrow it down to several key actors, including Travolta, who starred as Brigadier General Quintard. No stranger to controversy Mellick cast heavyweights; Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Sheen, Gary Oldman, Jason Patric, Bill Pullman, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen and Mickey Rourke in the movie, but their scenes were eventually cut.

Battlefield Earth (2000)

A stringent Scientologist, Travolta fought long and hard to get a novel by the founder of his religion (L. Ron Hubbard) onto the big screen. The film depicts the uprising of humans in a world which has been taken over by aliens, who go by the name of the Psychlos. Production company Franchise Pictures eventually put the project into motion and Travolta saw his vision become a reality. He poured millions of his own money into the film, in a bid to create the perfect picture - such was his belief in the film. It was a gigantic flop, made from a budget of $73million; the film didn’t even make half its money back causing Franchise Pictures to fall into administration.

Hairspray (2007)

Not content with having played a wide range of different characters in several films, Travolta ditched his role as the protagonist, for fake hair, a fat suit and women's clothing in Hairspray. The film sees Travolta returning to his musical roots as Edna Turnblad the mother of teenager, Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky). A remake of the Broadway musical and the 1988 film starring Ricki Lake, Hairspray does exactly what it says on the tin; it's a light hearted, upbeat comedy drama set in the 1950s. The hefty role as Edna earned Travolta a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Jennifer Trevorrow

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