John Travolta is a Hollywood icon with his own adoring fans – but even he can become starstruck.
The 70-year-old actor has expressed his admiration for A-list actress Margot Robbie, admitting she would be his "dream co-star" after he fell in love with her during her breakthrough role in the American airline drama Pan Am.
"Margot Robbie...oh my god, one can only dream," he said on the upcoming podcast, Beyond the Sale.
"I just love her, and she was in one of my favourite series called Pan Am," he added.
Recalling the first time he met her at the Oscars, John said: "I met her for the first time at the Oscars two years ago and I said, 'I saw your series 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 always wanted to be a pilot!' and I said, 'Really,' I said, 'That's really interesting.'"
© Getty ImagesThe Pulp Fiction star is a fully qualified pilot and flies his own Boeing 707 jet, so he couldn't resist pointing out to her a mistake in the Quentin Tarantino movie, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which starred Margot as Sharon Tate.
"I said, 'You know in your movie there was a mistake in it'. The Pan Am 747 didn't start service until January '70, but (the movie is set in) the fall of '69, and Leo DiCaprio is flying to Europe in a 747 – it wouldn't have been possible."
© Getty ImagesJohn said that Margot was concerned with how the famed director would react to the aviation blunder – which only impressed him more.
He explained: "I said, 'I don't know but it's fun to think of whether he would protect it – justify it, whatever – but I'm going to see Quentin in about a month and I'm going to tell him!
© Instagram7 Hollywood stars who are also pilots
© NurPhoto1. Tom Cruise
Learned to love flying while filming Top Gun and can even fly both commercial planes and helicopters.
2. John Travolta
Gained his pilot license at just 22 and keeps five airplanes at his home airport!
3. James Franco
Became a certified pilot in 2005 in preparation for playing a World War I fighter pilot in the 2006 movie Flyboys.
4. Harrison Ford
Achieved his pilot's license aged 52 but after several incidents, including a 2015 golf course crash, has garnered a reputation as being a rather accident prone – and by extension lucky – flyer.
5. Morgan Freeman
Formerly an air force mechanic, the Along Came a Spider star learnt to fly at the ripe old age of 65.
6. Brad Pitt
Decided he wasn't just content to be chaperoned in his beloved vintage and fighter planes, he wanted to fly them too and so got his pilot's license in 1994.
7. Angelina Jolie
Inspired to get her license in 2004 after taking son Maddox to watch planes land and take off at a nearby airfield.
"I know where he got it from – (the 747) was test flown in 1969 – but getting back to (Margot), the point was that, instead of defending it, she was much more fascinated with how Quentin would respond to it."
He added: "And she wanted to be a pilot – both of those things made me like her even more – and, she's gorgeous, just breathtaking."
It has been four years since John's beloved wife, Kelly Preston lost her battle with breast cancer.
© Getty ImagesAnnouncing her death at the age of 57 in 2020, John shared an emotional statement on Instagram.
He penned: "It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.
© Instagram"Kelly's love and life will always be remembered. I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don't hear from us for a while. But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal."
John is now a single parent to his children, daughter Ella Bleu, 24, and son Benjamin, 13.
