At 72, John Travolta Unveils a Dramatic New Look: "I Started to Not Be Able To Differentiate…"

John Travolta is embracing a bold new look with a beret. The actor was spotted sporting the hat during the Cannes Film Festival.

At the premiere of his directing debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, Travolta spoke to Varietyabout how the hat has helped him feel confident in the director's seat.

"So I looked up all the old school directors and they all had berets and sometimes glasses and it was very it was cliché but in a wonderful way," he shared "They were probably reflecting painters and musicians of the type."

The 72-year-old added that the headwear has a deep history.

"The beret has been around for 800 years," Travolta said. "You know, the military - it's an old school thing. I looked at all the photographs of me for 50 years and I can't tell you the difference. I started to not be able to differentiate and I said ‘well, you're not an actor really.'"

The Saturday Night Fever actor gives credit to the beret for earning him a spot on the best-dressed lists from Vogue, GQ, and Harper's Bazaar during Cannes.

"Guys don't have enough to do," Travolta said. "They're putting men in skirts because there's a lack of something there…why not change it up? We can have fun too."

He admitted he now owns at least a dozen berets. Travolta explains he has always made an effort to be fashionable.

"My brother-in-law worked for Vogue in the '60s and Harper's Bazaar and he would style me as a teenager. I had my first bell bottoms, my first wide belt, my first double breasted suit. I looked like Warren Beatty, Bonnie and Clyde. So I'm very aware of how [women] have more options than we do," the Pulp Fiction star said.

Travolta's film Propeller One-Way Night Coach is based on his 1997 children's book and available to stream on AppleTV+.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 10:11 PM.