John Travolta has broken his silence after his appearance at the Cannes Film Festival left fans stunned. The 72-year-old actor turned heads at the premiere of his directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, wearing a white beret, spectacles, and neatly trimmed facial hair that some described as 'drawn on'.
Taking to the red carpet with a new look, Travolta later explained his reasoning in an interview, stating he wanted to be seen as a director, not an actor. 'I said, I'm a director this time. You're an actor, play the part of a director, look like an old-school director,' he told CNN. He added that he looked up photos from the 1920s to the 1960s, noting that old-school directors wore berets and glasses, so he chose to pay homage to that style.
The star, best known for Pulp Fiction, also used the outfit to help remember the moment: 'I'll know — Oh, that was Propeller One-Way Night Coach, that was Cannes, that's when I won the Palme d'Or, and I'll have a vividness of it.'
Travolta was awarded an honorary Palme d'Or, Cannes' highest honour and equivalent to a lifetime achievement award. 'This is a humbling moment. This is beyond the Oscar,' he said while accepting the prize. He also revealed he cried upon learning his film had been accepted into competition.
His directorial debut is based on his own 1997 children's novel, set in the golden age of aviation. The film follows a young plane enthusiast and his mother on a cross-country odyssey to Hollywood, featuring cameos from his daughter Ella Bleu Travolta.
