John Travolta Interview: More Than a Woman

He's played a disco stud and a cold-blooded killer. So what's he doing in a dress?

Tapping Into His Feminine Side

You know the face well ... and so do millions of people all over the world. Now get ready for something different. Watching the charmingly rotund housewife Edna in this month's movie Hairspray, you'll barely recognize John Travolta, the macho star of Grease, Get Shorty, Pulp Fiction and dozens of other films he's made over the past three decades.
The guy who pilots his own 707 playing an old-fashioned stay-at-home mom? Yep, and he does it with gusto. While some male actors might flinch at tapping into their feminine side, Travolta, 53, has always taken risks in his career and his personal life -- from playing assassins and alcoholics on-screen to proudly speaking out about his faith in Scientology.

Travolta sat down with Reader's Digest near his adopted hometown of Ocala, Florida, for an after-midnight snack. The self-professed night owl opened up about embracing middle age, his life with wife Kelly Preston, 44, son Jett, 15, and daughter Ella, 7, and what it takes for a man to create a character who's just like a woman.

RD: Does it take courage for a man to play a woman?
Travolta: If it's a good part, it takes no more courage than playing an addict or a president. My career has been pretty bold. It's courageous if you're not used to doing courageous things.

RD: Still, there are macho men out there who wouldn't be caught dead in a dress. I think you have to be pretty ...
Travolta: Confident? I am. As an actor, I've always been that way.

RD: Where does that come from?
Travolta: My parents and my family, and the public. They really go with whatever I do.

RD: They do, don't they?
Travolta: Yeah, I feel like I have a tacit agreement with them. I trust my audience more than the people that work with me do. I'll say to a director, producer or another actor, "Trust me, this is working better than you think." It's like, Don't mess with what I got going here with these people, because I have 32 years, plus another ten years of theater before that, and I know how my particular abilities affect an audience.

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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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