John Travolta explained his bold looks at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, particularly his choice to wear a different colored beret.
The 72-year-old actor first caused controversy with his choice of headgear on Friday when he wore a slouchy white beret and glasses at the premiere of his directorial debut, “Propeller Night Bus.”
The next day, at the film’s photocall on Saturday, he appeared wearing a black beret and black wire-rimmed glasses.
Travolta explained that he came up with the much talked about costume because he wanted to portray himself as a director rather than an actor.
“I said, ‘This time it’s a director. You’re an actor, you play the role of a director, and it’s like an old-school director,'” he explained to CNN.
“So I looked at pictures from the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, and old-school directors wore berets and glasses, and I thought, ‘That’s what I’m doing. I’m paying homage to being a director, so I’m going to play the role of a director.'”
The A-lister said she wants to look back at her outfit and remember that moment.
“I know. ‘Oh, that was ‘Propeller Night Bus,’ that was Cannes, that was when I won the Palme d’Or,’ and I remember it vividly,” he said with a smile.
Travolta was awarded the prestigious Cannes Palme d’Or, the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award, at this year’s annual festival.
“I couldn’t be more honored to receive this award!” he posted of his accomplishment on Instagram on Friday. “For me, the Cannes Palme d’Or has always represented the best of art. This is more than a humbling experience.”
His 26-year-old daughter Ella, who appears with her father on “Propeller Night Bus,” commented: “I’m so proud of you ❤️.”
“Propeller One-Way Night Bus” follows Jeff, an airplane enthusiast, and his mother as they take a one-way transcontinental trip to Hollywood.
The film is based on his own 1997 children’s novel of the same name.
Ella, who has been promoting the film alongside her father in Cannes, plays a flight attendant in the film.
