The 72-year-old starred as Sandra Dee ‘Sandy’ Olsson in the 1978 film, which traced the lives of teenagers in the US, and the highs and lows of high school romance. Aussie Newton-John became a household name, and the hit – in which Travolta played villain Danny Zuko – would make a whopping $ 160 million (£ 125 million) in its first year. Following the film’s success, Newton-John would act in productions such as Xanadu, while earning commercial and critical acclaim for her music.
The film itself would spawn a string of hits, including You’re the One That I Want and Summer Nights, both of which secure high charts around the world.
But Newton-John confessed that she might not have chosen to take a screen test for the role of Sandy, had it not been for Travolta insisting she go to the audition.
She claimed that she and Travolta were “both in love” and that she was “captured by him” and his “bright blue eyes”.
Nine years ago she told The Fix, “He was so sweet and nice, and I was really nervous about making a movie and he convinced me that yes, I should take a screen test.
Olivia Newton-John Fear: Star ‘convinced’ by John Travolta to audition for Grease despite concerns (Image: GETTY)
Olivia Newton-John Fear: Star ‘convinced’ by John Travolta to audition for Grease despite concerns (Image: GETTY)
“We did the screen test and it was great and here we are!”
Travolta himself admitted that he liked Newton-John, claiming in a 1981 interview that he put in a “tough pitching” for the star.
He added, “I really wanted this girl in Grease.
“Because I did the Broadway show on a national tour and I said, ‘The perfect Sandy, the ultimate Sandy, would be Olivia Newton-John.”
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Olivia Newton-John Fear: Star ‘convinced’ by John Travolta to audition for Grease despite concerns (Image: GETTY)
Grease itself has grossed $ 400 million (£ 335 million) with a budget of $ 6 million (£ 4.3 million) and has been adapted into more than 123,000 musical productions.
It also collected approximately 13 million copies of singles of the film’s hits in the first year of its release.
It remained the highest grossing movie musical of all time for three decades, until it was knocked off its stick by the star-studded 2008 film ‘Mamma Mia’.
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Olivia Newton-John Fear: Star ‘convinced’ by John Travolta to audition for Grease despite concerns (Image: GETTY)
While Grease was a huge blockbuster, the sequel failed to impress critics and audiences.
Grease 2 was released in 1982 and did not include the two main stars of the original.
When asked about the follow-up, Newton-John said “not much,” before recalling how she was disapproved by producers for not being involved in the new film.
On the 2016 Bravo TV series ‘Watch What Happens Live’, Newton-Johnson said, “I kind of remember when they asked us, I think they approached John and I to do it and then it didn’t happen.
Olivia Newton-John Fear: Star ‘convinced’ by John Travolta to audition for Grease despite concerns (Image: GETTY)
“I didn’t think it was going to happen and then they made it with other people, so that’s my memory of it.”
The film was set two years after Danny, Sandy and the rest of the gang graduated from Rydell High School.
It starred Michelle Pfeiffer, as the leader of the Pink Ladies, alongside Maxwell Caulfield as an English exchange student – the character of Newton John’s cousin.
Grease airs today on Channel 4 and can be viewed on Amazon Prime.
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