John Travolta walked into the conference room of Boston's Ritz-Carlton and sat directly in front of me at the table. His sparkling blue eyes and renown grin presented a welcoming "Hello" while he lifted a plate of pre-made cookies, as if they symbolized a peace-offering. "Cookies? I baked them for you." I kindly declined with a slight laugh. Travolta was in Boston to promote his new movie, "Basic," co-starring Sameul L. Jackson.

justArts: What made you want to do this movie?

Travolta: There were several factors. There was this producer that I had a movie deal with like 20 years ago, and I never did a movie with him and he was always disappointed about that. So he found something after all these years for me. He said, "Keep in mind possibly Sam Jackson to re-group you from 'Pulp Fiction.'" So I did. I thought, "Okay, I like this character, he's kind of like a mastermind, you know. He's cool, smart and funny. There's a lot of freedom, I thought, to play him. And then the story got very interesting because it kept on taking twists and turns, and I didn't know what was happening. And then that cool ending where I thought, "Wow, that was worth the whole movie, because I didn't know that that was going to happen." And then Sam is an obvious reason, because I've wanted to do a movie with Sam since "Pulp Fiction." And (director) John McTiernan had a vision that I felt was very interesting. I don't know if you've heard the term cinema verite, but he wanted to do that kind of film work. So I thought that was really cool to put a really all-American cast with a European flavor of filmmaking through it.

justArts: How did you prepare for the role?

Travolta: Getting in physical shape, because he had to earn the moment where he shows his tattoo. Then I went to ranger school. It was two-fold for me because I did everything the guys did. I crawled along the ground and shot guns and dropped grenades in bunkers. The next day that whole battalion went to the Middle East and I thought, "I'm just fooling around but they're really going." That was interesting and weird to me. And, I looked up on the Internet all the data of the kind of job he had.

justArts: How was it to throw the grenade?

Travolta: It wasn't a big deal to me, but it was a big deal to them. Because I'm a jet pilot, I'm always dealing with training on emergencies, so dangerous situations, whether they're simulated or real, don't really have an adverse effect on me. I just I kick into another gear and I do it. So here they are, taking a chance on John Travolta, on a base that I had to get permission from Washington to be on, holding this grenade, and then hopefully I throw it in the right area and it goes far away enough from me. You could see these tough guys, holding their breath, like "Oh my god, is it going to be over, in like, a minute and we're all finished?" And it was like, relax guys. You know, so I clicked it open, held it, took it, threw it and scurried away.

justArts: Did you do your own stunts?

Travolta: The thing is, I don't really want to, but somehow you have to, because if you don't, it looks kind of stupid. I'm forced to do stunts more than I like really want to. I'm not like one of these guys can't wait to do the stunt. I'm like, "Okay, what stunt are we going to do? Okay, how are you going to film it? Okay, good. That angle will work with the stuntman but this angle over here will never work with a stuntman, so I've gotta do it, clearly." Then I practice up and I kind of reluctantly do the stunt.

justArts: If you don't like doing stunts, why do you choose action films?

Travolta: Most of the time in my actions films, I've had limited stunts, because I'm always the cool guy who just causes the stunt.

justArts: Do you prefer singing and dancing?

Travolta: I don't know if I prefer it, but I like it. See, I don't know how much you know about the New York actor syndrome. It works like this: You go to New York and you learn how to sing, and you learn how to dance and you learn to act. And you have three chances at a job e you see, that's the point, you see. That's what I did, that's what Richard Gere did, that's what Barry Bostwick did, that's what the actor from, uh...he was in "Pulp Fiction" and "Catch Me If You Can"... Mr. (Christopher) Walken did. We all sing and dance; it's just a matter of: Is there a movie for you to sing and dance in?

justArts: Is there one genre that you prefer?

Travolta: There's not a genre that I prefer, but there's one genre that I'd like to do: a Western. I think that would be a really cool kind of thing to do in the old-fashioned way, not in the urban-cowboy way.

justArts: Do you ever feel as though you're typecast?

Travolta: Never. When you get to play an angel, a president, a lawyer, a heroine addict, hit man, a ... you know I get to play everything in the book. I'm one of the luckiest actors going.

justArts: Is it true that Quentin Tarantino is thinking about doing a prequel to "Pulp Fiction" called the "Vega Brothers?"

Travolta: It's true that he's thinking about it. He sort of beats to his own drum. "Oh I'd really like to do the Vega Brothers, that would be a cool movie." Well, when? "Oh, well I don't know. I haven't thought about it." But he did say that he wanted to use all of his "Pulp Fiction" actors systematically, and now he's on Uma Thurman, and apparently I'm next. I've no idea what that means in Quentin's mind.

justArts: Are there female actors that you had chemistry with?

Travolta: Olivia and I. We didn't try very hard to have chemistry; we just had it. Although, I'm pretty good with women. I tend to adjust.

justArts: How do you feel about your appeal to this generation?

Travolta: I love it because I feel eternally youthful. I say that because I was at a Japanese restaurant in Disney World the other day for my birthday, and there was a cheerleading squad that won the United States finals. They're about ... how old would you be if you're in high school? Anywhere from 15 to 18? Well, put three hundred of them in the same restaurant. And, I mean, I'm with my son and I have my grown-out beard, I have a baseball cap. I don't look like a film actor at all; I'm just kind of grubbing it that day. And you would have thought between the shaking, the crying, the screaming that I was Leonardo Dicaprio. And I thought, "No, no, I used to be Leonardo Dicaprio. You girls are missing 20 years; I'm an old guy now." It was wonderful. It makes me feel like I'm always 20 years old.

justArts: Do you see yourself acting into your 60's and 70's?

Travolta: Yes. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't. Clearly 'cause I fly jets and stuff I could do that, but acting is too important to me to give up.

justArts: Do you plan on getting behind the scenes?

Travolta: I wrote a book called "Propeller One-Way Night Coach," about a little boy who travels across the country and he meets these different people. It was a very successful book. It was a novella. That's the only thing I'm interested in doing "behind." There's no part in it for me. I can't play eight anymore.

justArts: Did you always want to be an actor?

Travolta: I did, from about five or six years old.

justArts: In the press kit, it said you were bothered by the darkness of your character? Why is that?

Travolta: Bothered? I was bothered by it? That's an oxymoron because I do so many dark characters. You know, I never read that press kit.

JustArts: It was printed in the press kit that you feel you fit the military persona, and that's why you chose many of your characters?

Travolta: It seems that I am fascinated with military types. When I attack those roles, you seem to buy it. I don't know why that is. It's just a revelation to me that those military roles fit me well. I don't like war, but what is it about it that I can be convincing in those types of parts?