John Travolta has, of late, been a bit of a strumpet. He says so himself. “You should have seen everyone on the set of my last film,” he beams. “Every woman and every man was feeling my breasts and squeezing my ass. And I was ‘C’mon, feel me, touch me!’ I didn’t care. I was just a slut to be frank!”

Sadly, this is not some sizzling scoop; Travolta’s film sets have not degenerated into bacchanalian revels. Rather, Travolta is being frank about being Edna, the super-sized woman he plays in his latest movie, Hairspray, an adaptation of a stage musical that is itself an adaptation of John Waters’s 1988 film.

A camp 1960s singalong, drenched in pastels and swimming with pouting, preening performances (including a winning turn from a WASPish Michelle Pfeiffer), this version of Hairspray is a vibrant and frolicsome romp, with Travolta right at home in his roly-poly supporting part. Tottering around in a frumpy fat-suit, his pinched lips cooing the quirky Baltimore accent, the 53-year-old reprises the part of Edna Turnblad, played by the gay icon Divine in the original film, and he clearly delights in the part.

“That role made me think that I’d be shameless as a woman!” he laughs, plucking a cookie from a dish. “And I learnt a lot about women – they have a lot of power! Everyone knew I was underneath that outfit, but they forgot; I’d have crew guys saying, ‘Do you mind if I touch you there?’ ” Travolta is clearly on jovial form. “You know what,” he says, “I just really enjoyed making that movie. It took me 14 months to agree to do it, but I loved the character, playing a voluptuous woman – and of course the dancing.” Indeed, watching the final scenes, in which Travolta shuffles and shakes like a titanic Tina Turner, it is hard to believe how long it has been since he last made a musical.

BACKGROUND

• Hairspray

• Hairspray - Sunday Times Review

• Hairspray, review of the 1988 film

• Travolta as you've never seen him

• Obituary of Divine

On the move: John Travolta

John Travolta talks about his career, his huge carbon footprint and playing a woman

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“I have missed musicals,” he offers. “I’ve waited almost 30 years to do another one, and it’s not because I didn’t want to, it’s just that I couldn’t find one I wanted to do. I’ve been offered four and I said no. One was Chicago, one Phantom of the Opera, and two others that didn’t work. Making two in 30 years isn’t a lot.”

Those two musicals – Grease in 1978 and Staying Alive five years later – followed his breakthrough role in 1977, playing Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. And despite a career spanning four decades, in which he’s enjoyed his share of macho characters – from Vince Vega and Chili Palmer to Castor Troy and Howard Saint – Travolta is best remembered for the handful of films in which he’s wiggled his hips.

“Everyone does seem to remember the dancing,” he concedes. “But I don’t find it frustrating. I got an Os-car nomination for Saturday Night Fever and I was unexpectedly celebrated in that movie. You could also say that in Pulp Fiction, my other Academy Award nomination, everyone just remembers the dancing. Sometimes it is just one thing that people remember from a movie, but it doesn’t make that a totality. You might remember Brando’s mumbling from The Godfather, but there’s always more to it than that.”

Indeed, the characters that earned Travolta his Academy Award nominations did offer more than groovy moves, the former a heavy-faced vision of narcissism, the latter an addled vehicle for some of Quentin Tarantino’s finest ratatat dialogue.

“Strangely, they were both really risky parts for me,” Travolta continues. “ Pulp Fiction was daring, playing a heroin-addict hitman, and some people thought Saturday Night Fever was risky, because people hadn’t danced in movies for a while. Although playing the part of a woman in this film – well, Edna could well be my most daring character!”

So it has already proved, although perhaps not in the way that Travolta expected. Gay activists in the United States were quick to complain that Travolta, as a follower of Scientology, had no business taking on the role.

Travolta gives such opinions short shrift: “Those comments were from just one guy, and John Waters blew them right out of the water. There is nothing gay in this movie. I’m not playing a gay man.

“Scientology is not homophobic in any way, in fact it’s one of the more tolerant faiths. Anyone’s accepted.” The subject closed, our conversation returns to musicals, which, says Travolta, “are in my blood. It is a shame that I’ve not done more, and I do slightly regret turning down Chicago.”

The part offered to Travolta in Chicago eventually went to Richard Gere, which surprised no one, as Gere has founded his career on roles that Travolta turned down: Days of Heaven, American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman. In truth, the two men have experienced similar career paths, with big hits and big lows.

“I don’t know if you can have a laugh like that with Richard Gere,” says Travolta when asked if they ever chuckle about the crossover in their careers. “Basically, he’s a pretty serious guy! I’ve never brought it up, but there have been five roles that he did which I didn’t do. And Tom Hanks did pretty well with some of the roles I didn’t do, too. But at the end of the day everyone gets a share, so it’s really no big deal.”

After Hairspray opens he plans to shoot a comedy with his wife, the actress Kelly Preston, and his daughter, Ella, and also to star as J.R. Ewing in the big-screen version of another camp favourite, Dallas.

“They’ve paid me for Dallas, so I’m contracted, but they have had five scripts, none of which has worked. There’s another attempt being worked on, which I hope will be possible.

“I just try not to be cynical, it’s the only way to survive in this business. I always see the glass half full. If something turns to s***, I still can’t help but look for the one little good thing. If I give over to cynicism, that’s the moment I’ll give up.”

Hairspray is released on July 20

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