Married to the mob: John Travolta and Kelly Preston transform into John and Victoria Gotti on set of new biopic whose producers include mafia don's son

John Travolta is once again tackling the daunting task of a playing a polarizing and larger than life American celebrity for his latest project. 

The actor was spotted in character for the first time Wednesday as he got to work playing infamous mob boss John Gotti on the Cincinnati set of the upcoming film The Life And Death Of John Gotti.

Travolta sported a grey wig with black roots along with a charcoal suit jacket over black pants and a mock turtleneck to capture the look of Gotti.

Also photographed chatting it up with Travolta in between scenes was his wife Kelly Preston, who will be playing Gotti's wife Victoria, and the film's producer, Gotti's oldest son John Gotti Jr.

Preston was also dressed in black, wearing a fitted sleeveless zip-front dress that was a far cry from the designer frocks she is often photographed in on the red carpet.

She topped off her look by piling her normally free-flowing tresses - now dyed chestnut brown for her role - into a loose bouffant.

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Back to work: John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston as John and Victoria Gotti chat with producer John Gotti Jr. on the set of the new film The Life And Death Of John Gotti (above)

Latest role: Travolta has been attached to the Gotti project for five years (Travolta on Wednesday left, Gotti at his 1990 trial on right)

In character: Travolta on set in a photo shared by John Jr. on his Instagram

It is not clear how much of Gotti's life will be covered in the film, though given his son's role in the production there is a good chance that many of the stories he shared in his 2015 memoir Shadow of My Father will find their way into the script.

Gotti turned to a life of crime at a young age, a profession that allowed him to escape the poverty he grew up in after being born in the Bronx.

He was one of 13 children born to John and Philomena, who were both the children of Italian immigrants.

Gotti joined a street gang before he was a teenager and eventually dropped out of school before becoming a part of the Gambino family, where he quickly rose up the ranks until he ultimately became head of the massive organized crime syndicate. 

He first made inroads by running errands for members of the family as a teenager, and by his twenties was a key player in many of the biggest burglaries and heists.

Gotti landed in jail for the first time in 1965 after being convicted of attempted burglary, spending a year behind bars.

Three years after his release he once again found himself locked up after being charged with hijacking a Northwest Airlines warehouse and a United Airlines warehouse at what is now John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City along with a truck of cigarettes on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The $50,000 cigarette heist came two months after his arrest for the United hijacking, while Gotti was out on bail awaiting trial.

He pleaded guilty to the warehouse hijackings, and the charges relating to the New Jersey incident were dropped by prosecutors. 

He was out again in 1972 after three years spent in the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.

And just a year later he was again locked up, sentenced to two years following a manslaughter conviction for his role in the death of James McBratney, a man believed to have killed the nephew of Carlo Gambino. 

That move endeared him to the family though and Carlo, who was boss at the time.

It was not until 1986 that Gotti was named boss however, being passed over following Carlo's death in 1976 in favor of Paul Castellano. 

He was then passed over for underboss in 1985 when Castellano gave that role to his chauffeur Thomas Bilotti following the death of the acting underboss.

Castellano and Bilotti were found shot dead soon after, and in January of 1986 Gotti was named boss of the family. 

He served in that role for four years before his arrest in 1989 for murder, and in 1992 he was sentenced to life in prison.

Gotti died behind bars in 2002, one year after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

He was survived by his wife and children Angel (b. 1961), Victoria (b. 1962), John Jr., and Peter (b. 1969).

Gotti's son Frank died in 1980 at the age of 12 when a neighbor accidentally hit the boy with his car while he was riding a motorbike. The neighbor disappeared soon after and has never been found. 

Back in the day: John and Victoria Gotti with their son John Jr. shortly after his birth in 1964

Caught: Gotti in his 1973 mugshot following his arrest on charges of manslaughter

Celebration: Victoria and John Gotti in April 1990 leaving an event after their son's wedding

Travolta has been attached to the Gotti biopic for over five years now, staying with the project even as numerous Hollywood heavyweights dropped out of the film.

Nick Cassavetes, Joe Johnston and Barry Levinson were all attached to direct at one point, while a trio of Oscar-winning actors - Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and Anthony Hopkins - left the film after being cast due to multiple false starts that kept pushing back the start date for principal photography on the movie.

Lindsay Lohan was also set to star in the role of Victoria when the project was first announced back in 2011, a part that some had hoped would help to restart the flailing career of the once promising star.

A press conference was even held at the time with Travolta, John Jr., his sister Victoria and Lohan, who earlier that year had completed a court-ordered stay at the Betty Ford Clinic in what was then her fifth stint in rehab.

The look: Travolta sported a grey wig with black roots along with a charcoal suit jacket over black pants and a mock turtleneck to capture the look of Gotti

Departure: Preston was also dressed in black, wearing a fitted sleeveless zip-front dress that was a far cry from the designer frocks she is often photographed in on the red carpet

All about the hair: Preston topped off her look by piling her normally free-flowing tresses - now dyed chestnut brown for her role - into a loose bouffant.

The film is now being directed by Entourage star Kevin Connolly in what will be the third full-length feature for the actor.

Connolly is no doubt very familiar with the Gambino family having grown up on Long Island in the 70s and 80s when Gotti was at the height of his power and a constant presence in the New York papers. 

He previously directed Dear Eleanor, which is currently in limited release and has a cast that includes Jessica Alba and Isabelle Fuhrman, as well as the 2007 pic Gardener of Eden, starring his good friend Lukas Haas. 

Among the notable names cast in the film are Stacy Keach and Pruitt Taylor Vince, who will both play key members of the Gambino crime family.

Keach will portray Gotti mentor Neil Dellacroce while Vince has landed the part of Gotti's close friend Angelo Ruggeiro, a man referred to as an 'unpredictable psychopath' for his disregard for legal figures and alleged actions as a member of the Gambino family.

Travolta and Preston's 16-year-old daughter Ella Bleu will also appear as Gotti's first daughter Angel in what will be just her second acting role. 

Look-alike: Victoria Gotti was almost always seen wearing a black dress (Victoria in 1990 left, Preston on set right)

Family affair: The Travolta's daughter Ella Blue will also star in the picture

False start: Victoria Gotti, John Travolta, John Gotti Jr and Lindsay Lohan at a 2011 event announcing the project

The actor spoke about the project back in September when it was announced that financing had been secured for the feature during a press conference at the Toronto Film Festival.

Travolta flew in for just one day to do interviews about the film, which will be released next year by Lionsgate, and discuss how excited he was to be working with his family.

'My wife looks like Victoria and my daughter looks like Angel. It’s really weird,' he told The Hollywood Reporter.

'It’s uncanny. I looked at pictures and was thinking this is too perfect. Life is too short not to go to work with your family and friends.'

He also took time to praise Connolly, who was announced as the director at the event, saying: 'Kevin presented his take to me, which is the vision I've always wanted, and I believe the vision John Jr. wanted. It's a small character study of John Jr. and John Sr. that investigates the realness and grittiness of their repoire and the historical events of the Gotti family.'