The “John-aissance”

Things started looking up for John Travolta when he acted alongside Kirstie Alley in “Look Who’s Talking” as a taxi driver. The movie came out in 1989 and earned an incredible $297 million in theaters. The people making the movie knew they had a hit because this was Travolta’s biggest success at the box office since “Grease.” So, they decided to create several sequels, marking a new period of success for him.

Some people referred to this period as his “John-aissance.” In 1994, he got a role in Quentin Tarantino’s film “Pulp Fiction,” acting alongside Samuel L. Jackson. His performance as Vincent Vega earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This was like a fresh start for Travolta, reaching new levels of success. Naturally, this brought more fame and wealth.

A-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.”

In other movies, he acted as a loan shark in “Get Shorty” and as a lawyer in “A Civil Action.” Towards the late 1990s, Travolta played a role resembling Bill Clinton, a presidential candidate, in the movie “Primary Colors.” This character required a lot from him, and he had to make big changes in how he looked to make the role seem real.

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 requested him to gain around thirty pounds, which was different from his usual slim physique seen in movies like “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever.” To gain weight, he mentioned that he got to eat a lot of burgers and junk food, which he admitted he enjoyed. He said, “It’s been fun putting on the weight.” However, he eventually had to lose that weight for upcoming projects.

Oscars Embarrassment

Actors are often in the spotlight, but the biggest stage for them is the Academy Awards. In 2014, Travolta made a mistake by introducing Idina Menzel as Adele Dazeem. People were surprised he made such a mistake. He got a lot of criticism for it, but he handled it well. He sent the singer an apology along with a big bunch of flowers to make amends.

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

John Travolta got into trouble again at the Oscars that year. On the red carpet, he went to kiss Scarlett Johansson hello while she was getting her picture taken by photographers. It ended up looking awkward and surprising.

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.