John Travolta

Biography

John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting on television before transitioning into a leading man in film. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Travolta came to prominence starring in the sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), followed by leading roles in Carrie (1976), Grease (1978), Urban Cowboy (1980), and Blow Out (1981). He earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Pulp Fiction (1994). His other notable films include Get Shorty (1995), Broken Arrow (1996), Michael (1996), Face/Off (1997), A Civil Action (1998), Primary Colors (1998), The General's Daughter (1999), The Punisher (2004), Wild Hogs (2007), Hairspray (2007), Bolt (2008), and Savages (2012).

Travolta returned to television, portraying lawyer Robert Shapiro in the series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. He received an Emmy Award as a producer and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He was also Emmy-nominated for his role in the action-comedy web series Die Hart (2021).

Travolta has released nine albums outside of acting, including four singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40. His albums typically accompanied films he starred in, such as Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (1978), which topped the Billboard 200. Travolta is also a private pilot.

Known For

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Self

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Self - Guest

Great Performances

Self

The View

Self

Top of the Pops

Saturday Night Live

Self - Host

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

Self - Guest

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role
2026	November 1963	Johnny Roselli
2026	Black Tides	Bill Pierce
2025	High Rollers	Mason Goddard
2025	The Kick That United A Nation	Self
2024	Cash Out	Mason Goddard
2023	Die Hart	Ron Wilcox
2023	The Shepherd	Johnny Kavanagh
2023	Mob Land	Bodie Davis
2023	Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2022	American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective	Self
2022	Paradise City	Buck
2021	Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend	Self (archive footage)
2019	Trading Paint	Sam
2019	The Fanatic	Moose
2019	The Poison Rose	Carson Philips
2018	Gotti	John Gotti
2018	Speed Kills	Ben Aronoff (Don Aronow)
2018	Studio 54	Self (archive footage)
2017	Pattern Recognition	Self (archive footage)
2017	Stayin' Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees	Self - Host
2017	The Grease Story	Danny Zuko
2017	Saturday Night Fever: The Ultimate Disco Movie	Self
2017	John Travolta, le miraculé d'Hollywood	Self - Actor (archive footage)
2016	Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond	Self
2016	In a Valley of Violence	The Marshal
2016	David Blaine: Beyond Magic	Self
2016	I Am Wrath	Stanley Hill
2016	Life on the Line	Beau Ginner
2016	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story	Robert Shapiro
2015	Criminal Activities	Eddie
2015	Urban Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of Gilley's	Self
2014	The Forger	Raymond Cutter
2013	Killing Season	Emil Kovac
2013	Quentin Tarantino: 20 Years of Filmmaking	Self
2012	Casting By	Self
2012	Savages	Dennis
2012	Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen	(archive footage)
2012	Close Up	Self (archive footage)
2010	I'm Still Here	Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2010	From Paris with Love	Charlie Wax
2010	2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift	(archive footage)
2009	Old Dogs	Charlie
2009	The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3	Ryder
2008	Bolt	Bolt (voice)
2008	Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History	Self
2007	Hairspray	Edna Turnblad
2007	Wild Hogs	Woody Stevens
2007	Brando	Self
2006	Lonely Hearts	Elmer Robinson
2006	Tony Bennett: An American Classic	Self
2005	Be Cool	Chili Palmer
2005	Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon	Jim Irwin
2005	Bio.	Self
2005	Nos Bastidores de Hollywood	Self (archive footage)
2005	Everyday Heroes: Real Stories from Real Firefighters
2005	Be Cool, Very Cool	Self
2004	Ladder 49	Captain Mike Kennedy
2004	The Punisher	Howard Saint
2004	A Love Song for Bobby Long	Bobby Long
2004	John Travolta: The Inside Story	Self
2004	AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies	Host
2003	Basic	DEA Agent Tom Hardy
2003	John Travolta Remembers James Cagney	Self
2003	ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration	Self
2002	Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s	Self - Interviewee (archive footage)
2002	Austin Powers in Goldmember	John Travolta / Famous Goldmember ('Austinpussy')
2002	Pulp Fiction: The Facts	Self (archive footage)
2002	Pulp Fiction: Behind The Scenes Montages
2001	Domestic Disturbance	Frank Morrison
2001	Swordfish	Gabriel
2000	Lucky Numbers	Russ Richards
2000	Battlefield Earth	Terl
2000	Welcome to Hollywood	John Travolta
1999	The General's Daughter	Warrant Officer Paul Brenner
1999	Our Friend, Martin	Kyle's Dad (voice)
1999	Forever Hollywood	Self
1998	The Thin Red Line	Brig. Gen. David Quintard
1998	A Civil Action	Jan Schlichtmann
1998	Primary Colors	Jack Stanton
1998	Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's	Self
1998	Junket Whore	Self
1997	Face/Off	Sean Archer
1997	Mad City	Sam Baily
1997	She's So Lovely	Joey Germoni
1997	Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life	Self
1996	Michael	Michael
1996	Phenomenon	George Malley
1996	Orientation: A Scientology Information Film	Self
1996	Broken Arrow	Vic Deakins
1996	America's Flying Aces: The Blue Angels 50th Anniversary	Hosted by
1995	Get Shorty	Chili Palmer
1995	White Man's Burden	Louis Pinnock
1995	Trailer Camp	(Archival)
1994	Pulp Fiction	Vincent Vega
1993	Look Who's Talking Now!	James Ubriacco
1992	Boris and Natasha	Self
1991	Shout	Jack Cabe
1991	Chains of Gold	Scott Barnes
1991	Eyes of an Angel	Bobby
1990	Look Who's Talking Too	James
1990	Seriously... Phil Collins	Self
1989	Look Who's Talking	James
1989	The Experts	Travis
1987	Basements	Ben (segment "The Dumb Waiter")
1987	The Grand Knockout Tournament	Self
1987	Scientology: The Road to Total Freedom?	Self
1985	Perfect	Adam Lawrence
1985	That's Dancing!	Self (archive footage)
1983	Staying Alive	Tony Manero
1983	Two of a Kind	Zack
1983	James Bond: The First 21 Years	Self
1981	Blow Out	Jack Terry
1980	Urban Cowboy	Bud Davis
1979	Rona Barrett Looks at 1978	Self
1978	Grease	Danny Zuko
1978	Moment by Moment	Strip
1978	Grease Day USA	Self
1977	Saturday Night Fever	Tony Manero
1976	Carrie	Billy Nolan
1976	The Boy in the Plastic Bubble	Tod Lubitch
1976	The Tenth Level	Lab Technician (uncredited)
1975	The Devil’s Rain	Danny
1974	Nightmare	Man Outside Store (uncredited)
	That's Amore!	Nick Venere
	Cash Out 3	Mason Goddard
	Syndicate	Special Agent Felix Miller
	Ed
	ED

Year	TV Show	Role
2023	The Playboy Murders	Self (archive footage)
2022	Il était une fois Champs-Élysées	Self (archive footage)
2021	Hart to Heart	Self - Interviewee
2020	Die Hart	Ron Wilcox
2017	The True Story of...	Self (archive footage)
2016	American Crime Story	Robert Shapiro
2015	Jay Leno's Garage	Self
2015	Behind Closed Doors with Natalie Morales	Danny Zuko (archive footage)
2015	The Late Show with Stephen Colbert	Self - Guest
2014	Variety Studio: Actors on Actors	Self
2013	Kirstie	Mickey Russo
2012	The Scrat Show
2009	The Jay Leno Show	Self - Guest
2008	Oprah's Big Give
2006	El hormiguero	Self - Guest
2005	Fat Actress	John Travolta
2005	The Reichen Show	Self
2003	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Self
2003	Celebrities Uncensored	Self
2003	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	Self - Guest
2002	Fifth Gear	Self
2001	Fear Factor
2001	Good Day Live	Self
1999	The Early Show	Self
1999	Where Are They Now?	Self
1999	Rove	Self
1997	The View	Self
1994	Inside the Actors Studio	Self
1992	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1988	LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988	LIVE with Kelly and Mark	Self - Guest
1987	Sacrée Soirée	Self
1984	Goldene Kamera	Self
1984	MTV Video Music Awards	Self
1983	Harty	Self
1982	Champs-Elysées	Self
1981	Wetten, dass..?	Self
1981	Entertainment Tonight	Self
1976	Mr. T and Tina	Vinnie Barbarino
1976	The Captain and Tennille	Self - Guest
1975	Welcome Back, Kotter	Vinnie Barbarino
1975	Saturday Night Live	Self - Host
1975	Les Rendez-vous du dimanche	Self
1972	The Rookies
1972	Emergency!	Chuck Benson
1971	Great Performances	Self
1971	Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1969	Medical Center	Danny
1964	Top of the Pops
1962	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	Self
1961	The Mike Douglas Show	Self - Guest
1953	The Oscars	Self
1953	Panorama	Himself (archive footage)
1951	Sanremo Music Festival	Self - Special Guest
1944	Golden Globe Awards	Self - Presenter
1944	Golden Globe Awards	Self - Nominee / Presenter
1944	Golden Globe Awards	Self - Nominee
1944	Golden Globe Awards	Self - Presenter / Nominee