EXCLUSIVE
John Travolta fans might be forgiven for thinking he has a thing for healthy, blonde actresses from the land Down Under.
The Hollywood legend inspired a generation of romantic “summer lovers” with his duet with Australian screen icon Olivia Newton-John half a century ago in Grease.
And now Travolta is hoping to create an equally lasting moment alongside the nation’s latest favorite daughter: Margot Robbie.
The 70-year-old didn’t have to think twice after being asked about his “dream co-star” during a rare interview with young Australian property moguls Shane Spiteri and Kirsty Cunningham for their upcoming podcast, Beyond the Sale.
“Margot Robbie… oh my God, one can only dream,” Travolta revealed in the yet-to-air interview.
“I love her and she was in one of my favorite shows called Pan Am.”
Robbie landed her breakthrough role in the American air drama after moving to Hollywood following a four-year stint on Australian series Neighbours.
John Travolta made a splash on the big screen as Danny Zuko in the hit 1977 musical Grease, alongside the late Australian acting icon Olivia Newton-John, who played Sandy Olsson.
The 70-year-old actor is a well-known aviation enthusiast and amateur pilot.
Although the series lasted only one season, her starring role as newly trained flight attendant Laura Cameron launched her career in the United States.
Since then, Robbie has played scene-stealing roles in a number of films, including The Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short and Barbie.
Travolta said he mistakenly asked the 34-year-old star if she had parlayed her childhood desire to be a real-life flight attendant into the series.
‘I first met her at the Oscars two years ago and I said, ‘I saw your show Pan Am, you know, it was so good, you were so good, I heard you always wanted to be a flight attendant.’
“She said, ‘No! I’ve always wanted to be a pilot!’ And I said, ‘Really, that’s very interesting.'”
Travolta, an aviation enthusiast and fully qualified pilot who flies his own Boeing 707 jet, said he couldn’t resist mentioning a fool in one of Robbie’s films.
“I said, ‘You know there was a mistake in your movie (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood),'” the actor said in the upcoming podcast.
‘Pan Am’s 747 didn’t go into service until January 1970, but (the film is set in) the fall of 1969, and Leo DiCaprio is flying to Europe on a 747; that wouldn’t have been possible.’
Margot Robbie landed her breakthrough Hollywood role in the American aviation drama Pan Am
The series only lasted one season, but it launched Robbie’s film career in the US.
Travolta said he was struck by Robbie’s concern about how the film’s director, Quentin Tarantino, would react if he learned of the aviation anachronism.
“I said, ‘I don’t know, but it’s fun to think about whether I would protect him, justify him, whatever, but I’m going to see Quentin in about a month and tell him.'”
‘I know where he got it from – (the 747) was flight-tested in 1969 – but going back to (Margot), the point was that rather than defending him, she was much more fascinated with how Quentin would respond.
“And she wanted to be a pilot. Both of those things made me like her even more. Plus, she’s beautiful, just stunning.”
Travolta sat for the unexpected interview during a quick, otherwise low-key visit to Sydney with his children last week.
The megastar piloted a private jet from Queenstown in New Zealand to Australia for a three-day stay with her 24-year-old daughter, actress Ella Bleu, and son Benjamin, 13.
Travolta He began learning to fly when he was 15 and earned his first jet license in 1978, the same year his iconic musical film Grease was released in theaters and cemented his status as a popular leading man.
