Thanksgiving week is notoriously a time where insane travel stories are bred, but John Travolta has an especially jaw-dropping one that influenced his latest role. On November 24, 1992, while the Grease actor and self-proclaimed “aviation nerd” was piloting a Gulfstream II from his longtime home in Florida to Maine with his family on board, the jet suffered an electrical failure that nearly caused his vehicle to collide with a Boeing 747. Travolta recalled the experience as he attended a screening for his latest project, The Shepherd.
Ahead of The Shepherd landing on Disney+ next Friday, December 1, John Travolta turned up at the Thanksgiving premiere of the short film in London alongside its writer/director, Iain Softley. During a Q&A, Travolta shared how the film’s storyline, which has a young Royal Air Force pilot dealing with a near-death experience while heading home in a jet for the holidays, compared to his own incident over 30 years ago. In Travolta’s words:
I actually experienced a total electrical failure, not in a Vampire but in a corporate jet over Washington D.C. So when I read [Forsyth’s] book, it resonated even more because of this experience I had personally had. I knew what it felt like to absolutely think you’re going to die. I had two good jet engines but I had no instruments, no electric, nothing. And I thought it was over.
As John Travolta shared to attendees (via Variety), he could seriously relate to the contents of The Shepherd, which is based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1975 novella of the same name. When Travolta had his own brush with death during the 1992 jet failure, the actor somehow managed to land the jet safely and save his family. All the while, the incident actually caused multiple flights across four airports to be suspended in the process. As the actor continued to recall at the premiere:
And then as if by a miracle, we descended as per the rules to a lower altitude. I saw that Washington D.C. monument and identified that Washington National Airport was right next to it and I made a landing just like [Freddie] does in the film.
The Shepherd
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Directed By: Iain Softley
Written By: Iain Softley
Starring: John Travolta, Ben Radcliffe, Steven Makintosh, Millie Kent, Luca Slade, Scarlet Grace and Asan N’Jie
Runtime: 38 minutes
Where To Watch: Disney+ subscription
John Travolta has been a licensed pilot since he was 22 years old, and has continued to fly planes throughout his life despite what sounds like the seriously stressful incident when he was 38. While I might have hung up the hobby and steered clear of piloting after something like that, Travolta has not only continued to associate with jets, he had to somewhat relive the experience again for The Shepherd.
Travolta shared during the premiere that he found The Shepherd story not long after his incident and hoped to make it a movie ever since. He was originally hoping to play the young pilot of the story and turn it into a full length feature. But since the idea came right after one of John Travolta’s best movies, Pulp Fiction, he ended up staying busy with one film after another at that time, and it was shelved.
The Shepherd was recently made, but with one major change to Travolta’s original plans. Rather than the actor, who spoofed Grease with a viral Super Bowl commercial early this year, playing the young Royal Air Force pilot, he plays the role the title is referring to, a veteran pilot who appears out of nowhere and helps guide the man to safety amidst the electrical failure. Regarding the role swap, Travolta said he let go the idea of playing the other role “very easily” in favor of the Shepherd because he felt it was “much more authentic” to his own experiences after having experienced the young man’s troubles already.
As we wait for The Shepherd to arrive on the streaming service December 1, you can check out all the new November 2023 releases to Disney+ now.