Aurora Starchild
Grease characters Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson have remained one of the hottest silver screen fictional couples since they first wowed the world in 1978. While Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta are undeniably talented performers, it turns out that much of their onscreen attraction was very real. Prior to passing away last August, Olivia Newton-John dished about her chemistry and sexual tension with her co-star in her memoir, Don’t Stop Believin’.
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Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta “Really Liked Each Other”
“Yes, we really liked each other and there was an attraction, but we would never date because we were both involved with other people at the time,” wrote Newton-John. Both had partners and “a loyalty streak that runs deep,” she divulged, assuring the public that they never actually considered becoming an item.
Recalling the first time they met, the late singer fondly painted Travolta as both sensual and sexy, exuding a warmth that basically made her melt.
“I went outside to be greeted by those piercing blue eyes and the warmest smile on the planet In person, John Travolta radiates pure joy and love,” she said of their introduction. “That day, he greeted me with a big hug like we were already lifelong friends. How could you say no to John Travolta?”
At the time Grease was filmed, Travolta was still getting his start in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Newton-John, who was 6 years older, had already made a name for herself as a then 3-time Grammy-Award-winning, Billboard chart-topping pop and country singer. Despite her success, she doubted her acting abilities and asked for a screen test before she was cast. How could she play a 17-year-old when she was actually in her late 20s? And then of course, she had an Australian accent.
Travolta Called Newton-John “Every Guy’s Dream”
Meanwhile, Travolta knew Newton-John was “the one that I want” from the start. Sure, she remembers him as being the heartbreaker in this story while she was an odd addition, but he remembers it the other way around.
“I said, ‘There is only one person that should play this role, and it’s Olivia Newton-John,’ ” Travolta told People in 2018. “She happens to be the biggest singer in the world right now, [and] she’s every guy’s dream.”
Travolta acted alongside Newton-John for her audition, already enamored with her. And sparks certainly flew.
“John came out to meet me. Our eyes met. When we walked inside the room together, it was magic, and everyone saw it,” she wrote. “They couldn’t deny this kind of chemistry.”
Over the course of their two-month shoot, Travolta continued to woo Newton-John with chivalrous gestures. It resulted in a build-up of sexual tension that would release at times that would only be appropriate if the flirting was reciprocated and approved by all parties involved.
One of those instances was when Newton-John first appeared in her “bad girl” costume — the iconic, off-the-shoulder black top and sharkskin pants. Casting director Joel Thurm once told The Guardian that the pants came from a thrift store and lacked a zipper. “She had to be sewn in and out every time she wanted to go to the bathroom. For those few days of filming, she just drank less water!” he said.
Travolta’s Head “Jerked” When He First Saw Newton-John in Sandy’s Skin-Tight Black Outfit
Even if you’ve watched Grease a hundred times, that all-black ensemble on Olivia Newton-John, complete with her blonde curls and smokey eye makeup, probably still causes heart palpitations. So, imagine how John Travolta felt when she first tried out the look!
“There were gasps, catcalls and a lot of whistling,” Newton-John wrote of that day. “John was filming the song ‘Sandy’ and I strutted on set. He stopped singing mid-note, as his head jerked up and his eyes popped. ‘Tell me more, tell me more,’ he shouted. We laughed so hard. It was exactly the reaction I wanted.”
Travolta Confirms That There Was “Sexual Tension” Between Newton-John and Him
Despite the fact that Travolta had to initially convince Newton-John to do “You’re the One That I Want,” he later admitted that Danny’s look of “lustful shock” was genuine. The revelation came during a live Q&A years later. An audience member got straight to the point.
“Was there any sexual tension between the two of you?” she asked.
“Yes. I think you saw that in ‘You’re the One That I Want,’” Travolta said cheekily. “There’s almost resolve [of] that tension right there.”
The duo again spoke to E! News in 2018 while celebrating the 40th anniversary of Grease.
Asked “what’s the one memory that stands out the most from 40 years ago?” Travolta didn’t skip a beat.
“Meeting Olivia,” he said. “Beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
“Yeah, I have to say the same because John came to talk me into doing it,” Newton-John interjected. “And that was a magical day, to meet him.”
Meanwhile, the two stars had their arms tightly wrapped around each other. The interviewer asked if “anything more than friendship happened back 40 years ago when you were shooting Grease.”
“We’re not allowed to talk about that,” said Travolta, as Newton-John and the E! News correspondent started cackling. “It’s utterly personal.”
They Once Kissed at a Grease Premiere Party… But While in Their Characters’ Costumes
It was a fair question. The sexy co-stars in fact shared an offscreen kiss at a Paramount Studio party for the movie’s premiere later that year. Sure, they were dressed as Sandy and Danny but, uh… the movie was long finished. It was that kiss, as well as the very real chemistry between the two actors, that has left the world scratching their heads in wonder if they were ever in love.
In fact, the first kiss that Sandra Dee and Danny shared in Grease was totally unscripted! Newton-John told Us Weekly in 2021 that she gave him a 10/10 and recalled the moment.
“It was at the beach — actually the opening scene of the movie,” she remembered “It was a beautiful day. We were playing around in the water, and I don’t really remember exactly, but it was a very lovely day and an exciting moment because it was the start of the film, although everything was kind of out of order, but we did that. That was the first time we had kissed.”
Regardless of how they felt for each other, the two stars remained close friends over the years. Travolta told E! News that they tried to see each other 3 or 4 times a year, in addition to keeping in touch via texts and emails. And when his beautiful friend passed away of cancer last year, Travolta was one of the first to write a heartfelt eulogy.
“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much,” he wrote. “We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”
