John Travolta made himself look bald in photographs before he would shave his head.

The actor - who was forced to chop off his locks and grow a goatee beard for his role in 'From Paris with Love' - asked director Pierre Morel to show him digitally-altered images before agreeing to adopt a new look.

He said: "Pierre and I did a superimposed-type - what do you call it when you?"

Pierre answered: "We did a Photoshop thing. We tried to erase John's hair, we did different types of goatees. We did a little chemistry before."

However, even though the 55-year-old actor was pleased with the results, he had to wait for permission from writer-and-producer Luc Besson before he was allowed to get rid of his trademark hairstyle.

Pierre and I did a superimposed-type - what do you call it when you?Pierre answered: We did a Photoshop thing. We tried to erase John's hair, we did different types of goatees. We did a little chemistry before.
 John explained to Cinema Blend: "Then we had to get approval from Luc, of course!

"And Luc loved it right away, but, you see, you're right. Film is a visual medium."

John recently admitted he is thinking of keeping his new look after it proved to be a hit with his female fans, including wife Kelly Preston.

He said: "It was quite a radical look for me and I was a little concerned about what people might think. Not only did Kelly like it but they did an on-line survey and 99 per cent of people preferred it to my usual look. I might just go bald and bearded full-time from now on."