Ever wonder what John Travolta’s greatest hits are from his decades-long career? You’ve come to the right place. You grew up watching Vinnie Barbarino strutt his stuff on Welcome Back, Kotter, saw Urban Cowboy and perfected your two-step, got chills from his creepy performance in Pulp Fiction…
Whether you’re a lifelong fan or just discovering his massive filmography, here’s a look at Travolta’s 10 biggest hits that showcase his impressive range and longevity as an actor.
From disco king to hitman to cult leader, the guy’s done it all. So grab your popcorn and turn up the Bee Gees, it’s time for a trip down memory lane with one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars.
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Saturday Night Fever is the movie that propelled John Travolta to superstardom and defined the disco era. Released in 1977, Travolta stars as Tony Manero, a Brooklyn paint store clerk who lives for the weekend.
When Saturday night rolls around, Tony puts on his polyester suit and heads to the local disco where he’s king of the dance floor. The movie’s soundtrack, featuring the Bee Gees, made disco mainstream and the music is as much a star of the film as Travolta. His dance moves to songs like “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” cemented his place as a cultural icon.
Grease (1978)
Grease is iconic. This 1978 musical film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John defined the ’50s era and made leather jackets and greased-back hair cool again.
Travolta shines as Danny Zuko, a greaser who falls for Sandy Olsson, the new girl in school. Their summer romance seems like a distant memory when they unexpectedly reunite at Rydell High School. Danny has a reputation to maintain with his greaser gang, the T-Birds, so he acts too cool for Sandy.
Urban Cowboy (1980)
Urban Cowboy was a cultural phenomenon that helped launch the pop-country music invasion of the early 1980s. This film stars John Travolta and Debra Winger as Bud and Sissy, a fun-loving young couple who meet at Gilley’s, the famous honky tonk in Pasadena, Texas.
Travolta shows off his dancing skills once again, this time learning the two-step and riding the mechanical bull. The film’s soundtrack topped the charts for months and helped bring country artists like Johnny Lee, Mickey Gilley, and the Charlie Daniels Band to mainstream audiences.
Get Shorty (1995)
Get Shorty is a crime comedy that helped revitalize John Travolta’s career in the mid-1990s. Travolta stars as Chili Palmer, a Miami mobster who travels to Los Angeles to collect a debt from a film producer. Instead, Palmer finds himself intrigued by the movie business and decides to produce a film himself.
Some of the most entertaining scenes in Get Shorty involve Travolta’s deadpan reactions and quick-witted comebacks. In one scene, Palmer pays a visit to B-movie producer Harry Zimm, played by Gene Hackman, to collect the money Zimm owes to Palmer’s boss. When Zimm asks why they sent Palmer, he coolly replies, “I’m the one they send when they want to scare the s*** out of someone.”
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction is arguably Travolta’s most well-known film and one of the greatest films of the 1990s. Released in 1994, Pulp Fiction revitalized Travolta’s career and introduced him to a whole new generation of fans.
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, this highly stylized crime film is told using a series of interconnected storylines set in LA’s criminal underworld. Travolta stars as Vincent Vega, a hitman working for Marsellus Wallace. Vincent is tasked with taking out Marsellus’ wife Mia, played by Uma Thurman. However, Vincent ends up developing feelings for Mia, complicating his assignment.
The film is violent, funny, strange and endlessly re-watchable. Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson have electric chemistry and unforgettable dialogue as hitmen Jules and Vincent. Travolta’s dance sequence with Thurman at Jack Rabbit Slim’s is one of the most iconic movie scenes of the ’90s.
Pulp Fiction earned over $200 million at the box office and received widespread critical acclaim, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes and earning seven Oscar nominations. The film revitalized Travolta’s faltering career, allowing him to take on more high-profile roles in subsequent years like in Get Shorty and Broken Arrow. Pulp Fiction remains Travolta’s coolest, most memorable performance and an all-time classic that influenced countless other filmmakers and films.
Primary Colors (1998)
In the political drama Primary Colors, John Travolta delivered one of his most compelling performances. As the charismatic Governor Jack Stanton, a character inspired by Bill Clinton during his 1992 presidential campaign, Travolta brought heart, humour and depth to the role.
With masterful subtlety, Travolta captured Stanton’s complex charm, ambition and insecurities. Whether glad-handing with voters, arguing policy with his staff or grappling with his troubled marriage, Travolta made Stanton’s struggles and contradictions emotionally resonant. His performance garnered widespread critical acclaim and his second Golden Globe nomination.
Though the film received mixed reviews, Travolta’s performance was widely praised. His nuanced, empathetic portrayal of Stanton highlighted Travolta’s often underrated talents as a dramatic actor. Nearly 25 years later, his turn in Primary Colors stands as one of his most compelling, fully realized characters. For Travolta fans, it’s a reminder of his remarkable range and ability to craft complex, layered performances.
Wild Hogs (2007)
One of Travolta’s most entertaining comedic roles was in the 2007 film Wild Hogs. In this movie, Travolta stars alongside Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy as one of four middle-aged men reliving their youth with a freewheeling motorcycle road trip. However, their adventure takes an unexpected detour when they run into a real biker gang.
Travolta plays Woody Stevens, a dentist enduring a midlife crisis. Tired of the pressures of his job and home life, Woody joins his friends on a cross-country motorcycle trek to recapture their freedom. However, their trip goes hilariously awry when they accidentally provoke the wrath of a group of troublemaking bikers known as the “Del Fuegos.”
Look Who’s Talking Movies (1989-1993)
The Look Who’s Talking films were some of Travolta’s biggest hits in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. In these comedic movies, Travolta voices the thoughts of an infant named Mikey as he observes the world around him.
The first film in the trilogy introduces Mikey and his single mother Mollie (Kirstie Alley). Mikey’s inner dialogue, voiced by Travolta, provides witty commentary on Mollie’s challenges as a new parent and her blossoming romance with cab driver James (also Travolta). This crowd-pleasing comedy was a massive blockbuster, grossing over $140 million.
Broken Arrow (1996)
Broken Arrow was an explosive action-thriller that proved Travolta could still deliver on the big screen. In this 1996 film, Travolta plays Vic Deakins, a rogue Air Force pilot who steals nuclear warheads from a B-2 stealth bomber.
Deakins plans to hold the warheads for ransom, threatening to detonate them in a major U.S. city if his demands aren’t met. The only man who can stop him is fellow bomber pilot Riley Hale, played by Christian Slater. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game across the Utah desert, with Hale in hot pursuit of Deakins before he can carry out his sinister plot.
Face/off (1997)
Face/Off is one of Travolta’s most over-the-top and entertaining films. In this 1997 action thriller, Travolta literally swaps faces with Nicolas Cage. Cage plays Castor Troy, an international terrorist who has planted bombs that are set to explode in Los Angeles. Travolta is Sean Archer, the FBI agent on the hunt for Troy.
When Troy is badly injured in a plane crash, Archer undergoes a radical surgery to swap faces with Troy in order to trick Troy’s brother into revealing the bomb locations. However, the real Troy wakes up from his coma and forces the doctor to give him Archer’s face. What follows is Travolta and Cage each impersonating the other and trying to outwit one another before the bombs go off.
There we have it, our list of 10 best movies featuring John Travolta. What do you think about our picks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below: