John Travolta Q&A

25 February 2010

John Travolta is back on the big screen this week in From Paris With Love, which sees him team up with British star Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

From the Director of Taken comes a thriller where a government agent’s desire to shine beyond the shadows of his profession comes true when he is paired with his new partner in crime... Wax.

As the two tear through Paris on an anti-terrorism peace mission, our young agent discovers the deadliest weapons are the one we love the most.

- What attracted you to this movie?

As an actor I’m first attracted to what I can do with a character that’s different than what someone else can do with it. This was an outrageous character and it gave me something to do as an actor.

I was able to be someone different than myself. And Luc Besson was an attraction because he's an excellent filmmaker and he wrote the script, and I think Pierre’s work was attractive because he proved through a few films that he could do this kind of movie, so all of these elements attracted me.

- How would you describe Wax?

A CIA operative that is unorthodox. He is one of those guys who, because he is so good at what he does, can afford to be a little unethical only because he delivers a product of excellence up and above your average CIA operative.

- Would you say you're an unorthodox kind of actor?

I guess it depends on what you think is unorthodox. In this case, I wouldn’t personally do the things that Wax does at all, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the right to play someone who does unorthodox things.

I did that in Pulp Fiction, I did that in Swordfish and Face / Off and many, many movies where I play guys that are somewhat unethical, but that’s the privilege you have when you are an artist or an actor, you get to do different things.

- How did you define Wax's look?

Well I think it was myself and Pierre and Luc. I had just finished a movie with Tony Scott and Denzel Washington called The Taking of Pelham 123 and I had sort of a rugged look going there and I thought, "Well, that worked, but how can I be different in this movie?"

So we decided to get rid of the hair and give me a goatee and dress me like a soldier of fortune. These guys are almost stylish now for some reason.

And we looked at pictures of these guys with guns and scarves and leather jackets and parachute pants and they looked glamorous and it was so bizarre to see this dichotomy of glamour with guns.

- Do you like your new hair cut?

A lot. Because it’s a bald look and it allows me freedom to be bald. Just like in Pulp Fiction, this unusual kind of Dutch haircut gave a kind of euro-trash feeling to the character, this heroine hit man.

It’s very important because film's a visual medium and all you’re looking at is what’s on screen, so you have to have a look that you are completely happy with. It satisfies the character.

- Wherever Wax goes, at the airport when we first see him and on the streets, he makes a strong impression, brash, straight-talking...

Yeah, he gives the customs a hard time with a lot of foul language and a lot of threatening ideas and prejudices, and he's not letting up at all, and if I were to be more normally dressed and normal in my attitude it wouldn’t be as appealing.

When you’re dressed the way I am, you’re more entertained by it than you are offended by it. If I were in a three-piece suit it would be offensive because you’d say, "Who is that guy, talking like that?" But shaved hair, goatee, kind of gruff, for some reason it’s not as offensive. He only uses foul language as punctuation for his bald ideas.

I mean, it’s not that it’s involuntary, it’s part of how he wants to communicate to either drug vendors, prostitution rings or government officials that he needs to fool in some way. So he uses it as a tool even more than a natural thing.

It’s an attitude. He puts the street attitude on to get through the streets. He's the kind of guy that would be hired, for a lot of money, to go into very dangerous situations, war zones and so on, to do espionage type of work, undercover type of work, and he’s got it nailed.

He’s afraid of nothing because he's so capable of handling anyone at anytime in any way and he's not afraid of death. He has the war mentality.

- How would you describe Wax's relationship with Reese?

I think at first Wax is trying to estimate who this guy is and how much of a liability will he be or how much of an asset will he be? In doing so, he makes a continuous judgment of where he's at with this guy, but he knows that Reese is a balance to his act.

He’s got languages under his belt and he’s got intelligence under his belt and he’s got his own kind of savvy that balances my gruff savvy. My instruction was to help him become more like me, so I’m taking a guy who has potential and turning him into someone a little more rugged. So I have a job but at the same time I’m ascertaining what he's about.

- And what was it like working with Jonathan Rhys Meyers?

He's lovely. He's a wonderful actor and he is agreeable and you can discuss anything with him in regards to your job or your approach, and he's a lot of fun. He’s got a sense of humor and he is professional, one of the most professional actors I’ve ever worked with.

He knows his lines, he's on time, he delivers great takes each time and you can depend on him and you can adjust he'll adjust for you too if you need something adjusted.

- And Pierre Morel, the director?

I'd seen Taken, and he came very highly recommended by Luc. In meeting Pierre, I had seen that he has a high intelligence, a good sense of logic and a desire to really make a good movie.

He’s a very elegant man and a good communicator, very low key and he knows what he wants because you could be doing a scene and he’ll say, "Could you try it this way?" and I find myself usually agreeing with it. He’s filled with good ideas, he’s easy to be with and the crew I think respects him and they try to work very hard for him. He has a very strong passion for this.

- How does your training as a dancer still influence your acting?

I wouldn’t be able to do half the stunts that I do today if I didn’t dance because they look like dancers. It’s the same with the John Woo movie. John Woo makes balletic stunts slow motion and movement and they're beautiful. Violent but beautiful. I think that if I didn’t have this dancing, I could do it but it wouldn’t be as fluent or as interesting perhaps.

- What do you like about making an action movie?

I like the movement and I like the different mindset. You use your body in a different way in an action movie and as long as it’s well written and it’s well directed, I love it. I have no interest in being in one that’s not well written and not well directed just for action sake.

In this movie, there's nothing gratuitous. One action sequence leads to the next and so and so forth because we're trying to get to a terrorist web, so it all makes sense.

- Did you enjoy the chance to work in France?

I wanted to do a movie in France for years. In thirty years this is the first movie that I’ve actually done here and I’m amazed that I haven’t done one before but it’s never too late, and, Voilà, here I am. Je suis heureux. I love the atmosphere on set.

I'm a very affectionate person and I love that everybody hugs and kisses each other. But more importantly, I love that everybody is about the work only. I really appreciate that here there is a work ethic and there is a care factor that matters. I have enjoyed it tremendously.

- The script throws in a few clichés about France food and sex, for example Truth or myth?

Every myth has some truth based on some experience somebody had. I mean, there’s the ugly American rumor. Are there some ugly Americans? Probably. But everyone? No. It’s just a small thing that rumors are based on and you make jokes and clichés of them and you make story points of them, but it doesn’t mean that they are true.

- What scene was the hardest for you?

I don’t know because I’ve been so active in this movie. The whole movie has been demanding and I giggle because I’m older than I’m behaving. They're taking advantage of my ability to move my body but actually I laugh at the idea that I’m allowing myself to do half the things I do.

Every time I do a stunt where I’m rolling over, jumping over a table or jumping in the air with two guns, I giggle because theoretically you should be winding down at my age and not winding up!

This is probably the most action-packed film I’ve ever been in and I’ve done some classic action movies but this is more active than I’ve ever been. It’s good.

From Paris With Love is released 26th February.