Remembering John Travolta's Most Iconic Roles For His 66th Birthday

Feb 18, 2020 by apost team

Happy birthday to John Travolta! As the award-winning actor celebrates his 66th birthday today, we’re going to remember his most iconic roles.

Young John Travolta had his big-screen debut with minor roles in two Horror flicks - The Devil’s Rain (1975) and Carrie (1976) - before he rose to superstar status with his performance in Saturday Night Fever (1977) that earned Travolta an Academy Awards nomination and turned him into an icon of the 1970s disco nightlife scene. 

Travolta celebrated his next big success playing Danny Zuko in the musical Grease (1978) before he reached a low point in his career during the 1980s. Though he had some small success starring in Look Who’s Talking and its sequels alongside Kristie Alley, the number of box office disappointments he appeared in prevailed.

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A film by young director Quentin Tarantino turned out to be the turning point in Travolta’s career. Many expected Pulp Fiction (1994) to flop but it turned out to become a huge success and is considered a timeless classic nowadays.

Travolta’s performance in Pulp Fiction earned him his second Oscars nomination for best actor in a leading role. In the film, Travolta plays the role of hitman Vincent Vega and appears in an iconic dance scene with Uma Thurman.

After Pulp Fiction's success, Travolta began to make successful films again and was once again regarded as a serious actor. He appeared in films such as Primary Colors (1998) or The General’s Daughter (1999). He even ended up winning a Golden Globe for his performance in Get Shorty (1995).  

In 2007, Travolta appeared in his first musical since the release of Grease, starring in the remake of Hairspray. In the film, he played the main character's mother and transformed himself into a woman with the help of wigs, makeup, and costumes.

In 2016, Travolta joined the cast of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and received an Emmy award for his supporting role by portraying Robert Shapiro. 

Recently the actor starred in the American thriller The Poison Rose (2019) that also featured his daughter Ella Bleu Travolta. His newest movie, The fanatic (2019), is a psychological thriller and shows Travolta as an obsessed fan.

John Travolta’s career surely had some ups and downs but the actor always found his way back to the top, as Hollywood loves nothing more than a good comeback story. Be sure to wish the Pulp Fiction-star a happy birthday and pass this article along to all Travolta fans you know.