4. Pulp Fiction - John Travolta
In the late '70s, John Travolta was pretty much one of Hollywood's biggest and brightest stars. Not only was the man loved by women, a great singer and dancer, but he could actually act too. He was Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. He was Danny Zuko in Grease. He was a big deal. Unfortunately for the flare wearing disco frequenting T-Bird (not sure if such a thing exists) the eighties were an incredibly harsh mistress to him. Travolta became stuck in predictable romantic comedies opposite whoever happened to be the blooming actress of the time, none of which brought much acclaim to write home about. To make matters worse, he gained a knack in turning down roles in films which would eventually become major successes such as American Gigolo, Flashdance, An Officer And A Gentleman, The Doors and Reservoir Dogs. Luckily for Travolta, however, Quentin Tarantino, director of the latter film, was determined to get the man he wanted and offered him the role of Vincent Vega, one half of the iconic hitman partnership with Samuel L. Jackson's Jules Winfield in the outstanding Pulp Fiction. Travolta delivered a performance which singlehandedly presented him with an A-List status once more, fifteen years after it had slipped away. Travolta was born again with a tougher, grittier image, and was responsible for not only his Academy Award nomination, but his casting in a series of blockbusters, such as Get Shorty, Face/Off. It's fair to say that Travolta endured a second wobbly patch at the turn of the millennium, thanks mainly due to his Scientology vehicle and all round bombastic flop Battlefield Earth, but wouldn't you know it, he's managed to shift opinion yet again thanks to his award-winning turn in the cinematic adaptation of Hairspray. As confusing as it is for a newly-crowned action star to turn to cross-dressing...