shared the meaning behind the eccentric beret looks he wore at the 2026 .
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Travolta Defends Viral Cannes Beret Look
John Travolta shared the meaning behind the eccentric beret looks he wore at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.The Grease actor, 72, was mercilessly roasted by fans...
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The Grease actor, 72, was for wearing three versions of the French-style cap over the weekend.
The cinema legend explained that there was an important reason for why he wore the chic headgear for his directorial debut in a new interview with CNN on Monday.
'The old school directors wore berets and the glasses. And I thought, that's what I'm doing,' he told the outlet, referencing his own turn behind the camera directing Propeller One-Way Night Coach.
He added that the striking look would help him remember the event in the future. 'I've been around for over 50 years doing movies, but I can't tell, when I look back, the difference between the events.'
'And I said, "I'm a director this time. You're an actor, play the part of a director. Look like an old school director,"' he said, adding that he 'looked up pictures' of famous filmmakers before him.
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John Travolta, 72, shared the meaning behind the eccentric beret looks he wore at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival over the weekend; Seen on Saturday at Cannes
'The old school directors wore berets and the glasses. And I thought, that's what I'm doing,' he told CNN, referencing his directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach; Seen in 2024
'I'm gonna do an homage to being a director,' he said of his catchy red carpet look.
'So I'm gonna play the part of being a director and then when I look back, I'll know, "Oh, that was Propeller One-Way Night Coach, that was Cannes, that was when I won the Palme d'Or." And I will have vividness of it.'
While he didn't name the specific cinematic idol he took inspiration from, the actor might have been channeling The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola (seen in 2007), who is known for wearing berets
Legendary Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman was also fond of the head gear; Pictured circa 1957
'It must be so nice to have so much money you can dress like a surrealist painter on the Left Bank of Paris in the 1930s.'
'WHO is that and what have they done with John Travolta?!
'Looks like she's standing next to his Madame Tussaud's wax statue.'
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Others praised the star's new look, writing: 'Wow. He looks like a real artist now' and 'Man's still fine with all them wrinkles. Hello pappy.'
Travolta was later seen weeping as he was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or ahead of the world premiere of his directorial debut.
He said: 'This is beyond the Oscar. Surprise complement! I can’t believe this. This is the last thing I expected.'
He told Cannes director Thierry Fremaux: 'You said this would be a special night, but I didn’t know it would mean this.'
'This is a humbling moment, so thank you, Thierry, from the bottom of my heart. When I met with you in November, I had no expectation that my film would be accepted.'
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'And when Thierry said it was not only accepted but it was making history because it would be the first film ever accepted that early, I cried like a baby because I just couldn’t believe it.'
Travolta has written and directed Propeller One-Way Night Coach, based on his own 1997 children's novel of the same name
'Because in my opinion, you are the most discerning person in the movie industry. I was just happy to be here! I never expected this. Thank you so much.'
According to the official synopsis, Propeller One-Way Night Coach tells the story of a 'young airplane enthusiast Jeff (newcomer Clark Shotwell) and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) who set off on a one-way cross-country odyssey to Hollywood, which transforms a simple flight into the trip of a lifetime.
The movie is based on the 1997 children's book of the same name that Travolta wrote.
Travolta and his late wife, Kelly Preston, also share sons Ben, 15, and the late Jett, who died in 2009 aged 16 after suffering a seizure during a family vacation in the Bahamas.
The book was also a tribute to Travolta's lifelong passion for aviation and was inspired by his own childhood memories of watching the planes take off from LaGuardia airport in New York.
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