Aside from awards nominations and accolades, John Travolta also has a victory dance that was inspired by Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard, Nick Young. Nick played for the Lakers between 2013-2017 and is known as “Swaggy P” which is short for, “The Prophet of Swag.” Aside from his incredible talent, whenever he scores off of a three-pointer, he will do a dance reminiscent of some John Travolta moves.
He claims that this was from a dream he had where God instructed him to be “a man going back and forth like John Travolta.”, something that we know John is very happy about as he says he “loves it” and thinks it’s “awesome!”
Another Oscar Oops
This wasn’t the only time John Travolta would get himself into hot water. There was another unfortunate incident at the Oscars that same year when on the red carpet, Travolta approached Scarlett Johansson to give her a kiss hello just as she was being snapped by photographers. The result was an awkward-looking surprise kiss.
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.
Gere’s Indebted to Travolta
Richard Gere says he is strangely indebted to John Travolta because some of his major roles were ones that were first offered to, and subsequently turned down by John Travolta. It wasn’t just one such role, but there were four significant films which included Gere’s breakout role in "American Gigolo."
There were also roles in the films, "Days of Heaven" and "An Officer and a Gentleman." Perhaps most famously, Travolta turned down a role to be in the adaptation of the Broadway musical, Chicago, a role which Gere gladly took and which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Of course, Gere gained these roles on his own merit, but it’s funny to think of what might have been for Travolta.
OJ Simpson Criticisms
In 2016 there was once again interest around the OJ Simpson murder trials. This had something to do with the ESPN documentary entitled, “OJ: Made in America” which was released at the same time as “The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.” Both of these were critically acclaimed.
Travolta played the role of Robert Schapiro, a lawyer who was at the forefront of the trial and part of OJ’s “dream team.” Travolta was criticized by Schapiro for not going to meet him and get to know him. Schapiro said the portrayal was not accurate, but then he might say that as he didn’t come across as the nicest of characters in the show.
Cutting Some Bangs
We know that John Travolta’s passion for airplanes isn’t limited to just flying them. He loves the whole concept of aviation. So, when Buzz Aldrin launched a non-profit organization called ShareSpace which encouraged the teaching of science and math, John Travolta was happy to put his name to it and help raise money.
To do so, he took part in a celebrity auction where he would re-enact the famous dance scene with his character and Uma Thurman's. The winning bidder was a dedicated fan and wished to emulate Uma Thurman's look so asked Travolta to cut bangs into her hair. He duly obliged and gave her hair a snip there and then.