Sean Connery’s favourite John Travolta performance: “That was something else there”
John Travolta’s journey in the spotlight has not been an easy one, but the critical acclaim he garnered after an unprecedented comeback was enough to make the complications of being in the limelight all the more worthwhile.
From his early roots in Grease as the supreme T-bird to his aloof portrayal of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, the actor found huge success through multiple cult classic movies, despite spending years on the outskirts of Hollywood and going through phases where he struggled to find projects that truly took off. Despite the fact that some of these projects weren’t commercially successful, they later found their audiences and developed new fan bases over the years, from the likes of Brian De Palma’s Blow Out and Carrie.
However, despite being seen as a Hollywood legend after performances in many iconic films, the actor realised that he had made it after praise from one fellow star, having a pinch-me moment after being called on the phone and asked to reveal his secrets to one of the all-time greats.
The James Bond series has given birth to some of the greatest action sequences of all time, with the stars who reprise each iteration of the character being cemented in the Hollywood hall of fame for their part in the beloved spy franchise. While the likes of Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan have found global fame through the steely exterior of the secret agent, one of the most renowned performances in the series came from Sean Connery, who starred in films such as Goldfinger, Dr. No and From Russia With Love.
Goldfinger is perhaps one of the most influential from the entire franchise, with the iconic theme tune being forever associated with the story and referenced within popular culture. As a result, Connery is one of the resounding heroes of the genre, praised for his effortlessly cool facade and pioneering of many trademarks that we now associate with the spy thriller as a whole.
When discussing the unexpected ramifications of his career, Travolta described how Connery had telephoned him after watching his performance as Chili Palmer in Get Shorty, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld in 1995. Travolta explained how the film had an unexpected effect on his star status, with the surprising instalment to his career bringing about high praise from some of his heroes.
When discussing this, Travolta said, “Dustin Hoffman called, saying: ‘How did you do that? What was the secret? Tell me what the secret was.’ And Sean Connery called me. [imitating Connery’s Scottish accent] ‘I gotta tell you, boy, that was, that was something else there. That was one of my favourite performances ever.’ I loved those reactions.”
The film was released just before the colossal success of Pulp Fiction, bizarrely playing another kind of criminal mastermind before he came to be defined for this character type following his performance in Quentin Tarantino’s formative masterpiece. Get Shorty combines the screen power of Travolta with Gene Hackman, creating a surprising addition to his filmography that speaks to his adaptability and foreshadows his role in the sprawling story that would change the film industry forever.
