John Travolta Recalls the Scary Moment a Fan Snuck into His House and Hid in His Closet

In his new movie, The Fanatic, John Travolta, 65, plays Moose, a rabid fan who is obsessed with his favorite action star Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa). In real life, the actor says for the most part, he’s always had a good experience with his fans but recalls one time when things got a little scary.

“I lived in Santa Barbara about 30 years ago, and someone snuck into my house. I opened the closet, and there she was,” says Travolta. “It did scare me, but it turned out to be an innocent person. She was a girl who probably wanted to meet me and didn’t know how to do it.”

Travolta has been acting for more than 40 years and says he is very grateful for all that fame has given him.

“You have a golden ticket all over the world. So what if you have to sign autographs and take pictures? For me, it’s not a big price to pay,” he says.

Courtesy Quiver Distribution
Courtesy Quiver Distribution

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He also knows what it’s like to be a fan and remembers being starstruck when meeting different people he’s admired.

“I loved Jimmy Cagney, and when I met him I was blown away. Gérard Depardieu. Paul McCartney. Barbra Streisand,” says Travolta. “Even this recent video with Pitbull—I was a huge fan of his.”

RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC
RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC

The actor’s friendship with Pitbull goes a long way, as Travolta revealed in February when he said it was the Latin rapper who convinced him to shave his head.

“A good friend, Armando Perez, Pitbull — he lives his life like this, he would send pictures of me, I have all my hair, and he’d superimpose no hair and say, ‘I prefer this,’ so I thought… Maybe it’s time to do it,” Travolta told Extra at the time.

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As for his wife Kelly Preston’s reaction, Travolta said, “Oh, she loves it… She has always loved the idea.”

The Fanatic is in theaters Aug. 30.