John Travolta’s role as Edna Turnblad in the 2007 musical comedy Hairspray was one of the biggest highlights of the film, but it only happened thanks to a behind-the-scenes agreement during the casting process. It was obvious that Edna had to be a drag performer after Divine played the role in the original 1988 film. Although John Travolta turned out to be the perfect casting choice, the legendary performer only agreed to the project on the proviso that another actor was also involved.
