John Travolta: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

4. Sean Archer/Castor Troy - Face/Off (1997)

Nicolas Cage is another actor who often stands out, whether it be for his captivating portrayal of a desperate alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas, or his unintentionally hilarious role as a terrified police officer visiting a mysterious island in The Wicker Man. In 1997, director John Woo decided to cast him opposite another unpredictable star in John Travolta for Face/Off, an action-thriller where a cop and criminal swap faces and - ahem - face off against one another in their new physical forms. In hindsight, Face/Off is a movie that could have so easily gone horribly wrong, but actually ended up emerging as one of the best American action films of the 1990s. Whilst Woo enthusiastically directs a wild and frantic plot, Travolta and Cage essentially do impersonations of the other - and the result is absolutely fantastic. Travolta is gleefully manic throughout, either when doing his best Nicolas-Cage-on-speed impression, or poking fun at himself and his own features. To do an impersonation of someone stood opposite doing an impression of you has to be difficult, but both of Face/Off's lead stars pull it off.