John Travolta Interview: More Than a Woman (page 2 of 4)

A Poignant Character

RD: Did you help create Edna's shape?
Travolta: I sure did, baby. Every inch of her. I wanted her to look like Sophia Loren if you added 200 pounds. Very voluptuous. I didn't want her to be Grandma. I wanted her to be a sexy bombshell who was fun to look at.

RD: How long did it take to transform John Travolta into Edna every day?
Travolta: Five hours. First, it was the gel-filled prosthetics I wore. Then it was the makeup. Then the wig. Then the fat suit, the clothing over the fat suit, the shoes.

RD: Your costar and dancing partner is Christopher Walken. He's ...
Travolta: Hilarious. It was my idea to have him play my husband. He's a great actor, and I didn't know anyone else who could sing and dance as well as he could.

RD: Your mannerisms as Edna, from the way you move your hands to your wide-eyed smile, are completely, believably female. How'd you do that?
Travolta: When I was a kid, I watched my mother. It was so much effort for her to get into the accouterment of the day -- the girdle, stockings, the bra that dug in if you were well-endowed, which my mother was. So when I did all that in the film, I said, Ah, this is déjà vu.

RD: So you think women have it easier nowadays?
Travolta: I think from watching my wife dress, she has it a lot easier. But in those days, it was part of the fun of what they did for men and how important it was to doll up for a man. There was a kind of naiveté and an innocence to all that, which I remember very well. I kind of like that energy.

RD: Did you use any other models for Edna -- Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie or Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire?
Travolta: No, no, no. My models were more along the lines of musical theater, and women more than men.

RD: Edna on Broadway is often a campy, drag performance.
Travolta: Yes, but that wasn't interesting to me. I was playing a woman. It's not that I'm not entertained by drag. But I'm an actor. If I'm going to play a woman, let me play a woman. Don't let me pretend to be, and wink, wink, I'm a guy under here.

RD: Did Kelly ever go to the set?
Travolta: She loved going to the set. She would cry every time she saw me as Edna.

RD: You mean cry as in laugh?
Travolta: Cry as in laugh, and be moved by it. The way I was playing her, Edna is a very poignant character.

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• John Travolta Bio on biography.com
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• John Travolta: Night Moves
• John Travolta sleeps all day, works at night -- and is one of the happiest stars around.
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• Nicolas Cage Interview
• Nicolas Cage takes on his roles with the same intensity he brings to his own life.
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• Tom Cruise Interview
• Outtakes from our interview with the actor.
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• Angelina Jolie Interview
• With her adopted son, she travels the world making movies -- and dispensing hope.
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