Travolta: I nearly quit making movies after my son died

John Travolta said today he nearly retired from films after the death of his son Jett three years ago.

The boy, 16, suffered a seizure on a family holiday in the Bahamas.

The Scientologist said: “I lost my son a few years ago and I’d been having quite a time of that. After three years getting a lot of support from my church, fans and family I decided it was OK to go back to work because I’d even thought of retiring at one point as it felt like too much.”

Travolta, who shot to fame in 1977 with Saturday Night Fever, said he took a part in Oliver Stone’s new movie Savages because it was a “high-end, five-star film”. He also called for a privacy law and condemned the publication of topless photographs of the Duchess of Cambridge.

The actor, who famously danced with Princess Diana at a White House dinner in 1985, said it was the “worst time to be famous”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “There is a right to privacy whether you’re famous or not and I feel that anyone invaded at that level is unfortunate and there should be a law. No one would like that.” Savages, which opens in the UK today, is based on Don Winslow’s thriller and also stars Salma Hayek and Benicio del Toro.