John Travolta is certainly one of the most interesting characters in Hollywood, on and off-screen. An outspoken member of the Church of Scientology and a qualified pilot (per Velvet Ropes), he’s been responsible for some of the industry’s most notorious box office bombs, but also has starred in some of its most revered and iconic films of all time.
Travolta was riding firmly at the top of his game in the late 1970s, but during the ’80s, Travolta’s career was plagued by some unfortunate box office flops and poor role choices, which sadly failed to properly showcase his talent. However, the trajectory of his career changed when Quentin Tarantino eyed him for the role of Vincent Vega in the genre defying, all-around classic Pulp Fiction. Travolta re-established his star status here, and the critical and commercial success of Pulp Fiction led to a career resurgence in the ’90s.
Updated: November 2022: To keep this article fresh and relevant by adding more information and entries, this article has been updated by Dylan Reber.
As of late, though, his career appears to be dipping again. His output has been less than impressive, with the majority of his movies getting universally panned by critics and going straight to streaming. But if history is anything to go by, it would be foolish to write off Travolta just yet, as there’s always a chance the king of comebacks could rediscover his mojo. Here are John Travolta’s best movies, ranked.
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11 Michael (1996)
New Line Cinema
In the 1996 dramedy Michael, Travolta plays the Archangel Michael, as he’s sent down to Earth to complete various tasks for his creator. Surrounded by an outstanding cast that includes Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, and Bob Hoskins, Travolta shines in the titular role. The film is quirky and funny, while still pulling at the heart strings in moments where Michael must play cupid, and in a particularly tear-jerking moment where he brings the protagonist’s dog, Sparky, back to life after being hit by a truck. Michael was a unique ’90s comedy that never received the amount of love it deserved.
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10 Broken Arrow (1996)
20th Century Fox
In one of his rare action villain roles, Travolta plays Major Vic Deakins in Broken Arrow. Travolta plays the opposite of Christian Slater in a role where he steals nuclear warheads in hopes of blackmailing the U.S. government for money, or else he will detonate the missiles in populated areas. Though not as memorable as his other ’90s villain role, Face/Off, Travolta does a great job embodying a cool and collected psychopath much in the same way as the 1997 thriller. Broken Arrow doesn’t get as much love as it should, and most of its positives come from Travolta’s great performance.
9 The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
Sony Pictures Releasing
Though its title is a mouthful, The Taking of Pelham 123 is a straightforward action thriller, one elevated by Travolta’s performance as criminal hijacker Dennis “Ryder” Ford (alias Mr. Blue). Here, Travolta trades in his poufy, carefully styled hair and clean-shaven face for edgy sideburns and a handlebar mustache. It’s a different look for Travolta, but one that shows the actor aging gracefully. In some ways, his performance hearkens back to the violent criminality of his role in Pulp Fiction, only here he’s more frightening than funny. It’s a strong dramatic part and one that Travolta excels at.
8 Hairspray (2007)
This 2007 musical romantic comedy film is a fantastic feel-good summer movie with plenty of heart. Hairspray is based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on John Waters’ 1988 comedy film of the same name. It follows the “pleasantly plump” teenage girl Tracy Turnblad, as she encounters stardom as a dancer on a local television dance show and rallies against racial segregation. John Travolta plays Edna Turnblad, Tracy’s mother, who is agoraphobic and ashamed of her obesity. Travolta’s casting as Edna continued the tradition of having a man in drag portray the character, as seen in the original 1988 film, which starred drag queen Devine, as well as the Hairspray’s Broadway version. It has been reported that the movie executives originally expected the part to be filled by an actor more well known for his comic roles, such as Robin Williams or Steve Martin. However, due to his success in the musical Grease and their faith in his versatility, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron fought for Travolta, and the rest is history. Travolta played this larger-than-life character so well that it seems hard to imagine any other actor in the role.
7 In a Valley of Violence (2016)
Focus World
The newest film on this list, In a Valley of Violence is a whip-smart western from Ti West (of X and Pearl fame). Part black comedy and part thriller, it puts a refreshing spin on the genre and includes star performances from Ethan Hawke and John Travolta. Travolta takes on the role of Clyde Martin, a marshal trying to keep his town, Denton, under control and out of trouble. When an unlucky drifter arrives on the scene, trouble arrives with him, and Denton’s fragile peace is broken. Travolta plays Martin as a stoic, respectable marshal doing his best to maintain order in a violent world. It’s a fun genre role for the veteran actor and one of his best films in recent memory.
6 Get Shorty (1995)
Jersey Films
Following the success of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994 (also starring Travolta) we began to see a whole slew of pulpy gangster flicks popping up out of nowhere, as discussed by American Express Essentials. Most were merely copycats trying to cash in on Pulp Fiction’s success. Among these imitators there were a few winners that, while influenced by the blackly comedic, dialogue-heavy, multi-stranded and ultra-violent tone of Pulp Fiction, brought something fresh to the table. Get Shorty was one of these: sharply satirical and delivering the perfect mix of comedy and thriller. Released in 1995, one year after Pulp Fiction, it stars John Travolta alongside Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito. It follows Chili Palmer (Travolta), a Miami mobster, and loan shark who inadvertently gets involved in feature film production after traveling to Los Angeles to collect a casino debt from a B-movie director. Like Hairspray, Travolta wasn’t necessarily everybody’s first choice, with Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, and Michael Keaton all reportedly being offered the role of Chili Palmer but turning it down. That said, Travolta is on top form here, bringing his trademark cool like only he can, while also demonstrating his comedic chops when the script calls for it.
5 Face/Off (1997)
Touchstone Pictures
In a nutshell, Face/Off is about how an FBI agent (John Travolta) undergoes facial transplant surgery to assume the identity of the criminal mastermind (Nicolas Cage), in order to foil a terrorist plot. Things go awry, though, when the criminal wakes up prematurely and uses the same procedure to assume the identity of the agent. Sure, it does leave itself open to a whole heap of plot holes but this John Woo-directed action thriller is an extremely fun, white-knuckle ride, featuring some of the greatest stylized action sequences ever committed to film. This is definitely one of Travolta’s most unhinged, scenery-chomping performances to date, which is understandable when you consider that for most of the movie he is meant to be Nic Cage’s (a notoriously unhinged actor himself) character.
4 Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Paramount Pictures
The movie that made John Travolta one of the biggest stars on the planet, Saturday Night Fever was a cultural phenomenon. Not only was it a major critical and commercial success; it also brought disco music back into the limelight, popularizing it around the world (which could be considered a good or a bad thing, depending on where you stand regarding the genre). Pretty much everything about the movie has become iconic, from the dance moves to the Bee-Gees-driven soundtrack to the fantastically over-the-top costumes. Despite the cheesy soundtrack and the frilly costumes, the movie itself is a cleverly-told bleak portrayal of working-class life in 70s USA that tackles a plethora of poignant subjects, including drugs, religion, poverty, suicide, sexual assault, and racism.
3 Blow Out (1981)
Filmways Pictures
Still riding on the success of the mega-hits Grease and Saturday Night Fever, Travolta subverted expectations, somewhat, by opting to work with film auteur Brian De Palma for his next role. De Palma, at the time, was known for working on highly provocative movies including the erotic slasher Dressed to Kill and the now-iconic supernatural blood fest, Carrie. Blow Out stars Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, unintentionally captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a high-profile political figure. A unique concept that resulted in a movie that went onto be named as one of Quentin Tarantino’s all-time favorites and become a universal hit with critics (via Open Culture). Despite the acclaim, the movie performed poorly at the box office, mostly likely down to the unexpected shift in tone for Travolta and the bleak ending.
2 Grease (1978)
Paramount Pictures
If Saturday Night Fever showed the world that John Travolta could do musicals, Grease cemented him as the king of musicals, not least because it went on to become the highest-grossing musical film ever at the time. The film is set in the 1950s and follows the lives of ‘greaser’ Danny Zuko (Travolta) and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton John) who develop an attraction for each other over the summer holidays. When they’re back at high school, their relationship becomes trickier to navigate due to their different backgrounds and peer groups. Despite a few problematic parts that don’t hold up so well today, the film is still the perfect example of how to bring a Broadway musical alive on the big screen without losing any of the energy and magic one expects from a live performance (take note, Cats). Again, like Saturday Night Fever, despite the cheesy (yet fantastically catchy) soundtrack and the campy costumes, it touches on several important issues, still relevant today, including teenage pregnancy, peer pressure, and gang violence.
1 Pulp Fiction (1994)
Miramax Films
Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, and for good reason. Pretty much every aspect of the movie is delivered to perfection, from the punchy dialogue littered with pop culture references, still quoted by movie buffs over 25 years later, to the twisty-turny, non-linear interweaving storylines, to the ironic combination of humor and strong violence. Although most of this is down to the writer/director and his unique vision, it couldn’t have been executed as successfully as it was without one of the finest casts of actors ever assembled. The audience is treated to a masterclass in quality acting from the likes of Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Samuel L Jackson, Harvey Keitel, Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth and John Travolta. Travolta, in particular, has been praised alongside Samuel L Jackson for their cooler-than-cool portrayals of two calm, collected, mass-murdering hitmen.
