BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., June 1, 2001–For an actor whose 21st century hasn’t exactly been profitable so far–Battlefield Earth and Lucky Numbers, anyone?–John Travolta is in many ways still the movie icon he became after he strutted down the street in that spangly white jumpsuit. Since then, he’s been lodged in the same $20 million list as Cruise, Hanks, Gibson and Carrey–but he’s acting twice as much.
Witness his factory-level output of two to three movies per year, a train that started rolling after his Oscar-nominated “comeback” in 1994’s Pulp Fiction. And unlike character actors, who can appear in many projects with little screen time in each, all of Travolta‘s roles are starring ones, which means he can take the credit–or the fall –when the ticket stubs and reviews start pouring in.
He doesn’t mind it. In fact, he thrives on it. “I need at least six hours of sleep a night,” Travolta, 47, says of his key to working with a smile. And if the days are long, he’ll break into song, something he did on the set of Swordfish, his latest film.
“We were bored and I knew [co-star Hugh Jackman] could sing, so we went through all sorts of different songs to entertain each other,” Travolta says. So with Jackman filling in for Olivia Newton-John, Travolta found himself belting “Summer Nights” from Grease at 3 a.m. in front of the crew.
But much of the fun Travolta says he had on Swordfish, which follows a computer hacker (Jackman) hired to retrieve illegal government funds for a spy (Travolta), was the chance to craft another villain, a role he’s played in half of his recent films.
“I always try to be honorable to the character’s motivations, so I don’t think I ever chalk it up to ‘Oh, he’s the villain,'” Travolta says. “Probably he always thought he was always doing something right or something good. The only time I chalk it up to ‘Oh, he’s the villain’ is when you do a stunt where you take two guns out. Then you have to give it up to that.”
Next on Travolta‘s fun schedule? The actor has just finished filming the thriller Domestic Disturbances with Vince Vaughn and Teri Polo in North Carolina. In a few weeks he’ll fly Jackman from Australia to London in his personal 707 jet, which is equipped with luxuries rivaling that of Air Force One. A plane fanatic, Travolta will serve as both pilot and host.
He’ll rest (for once) this summer, spending time with his wife Kelly Preston, their 9-year-old son Jett and 14-month-old daughter Ella Bleu. Then he says he’ll “find something” to work on in the fall.
He’ll have no problem, we’re sure.
