Voight is also known for his television roles, including asNazi officerJürgen Stroop inUprising (2001) andPope John Paul II on theeponymous miniseries (2005). His role as Mickey Donovan on theShowtime drama seriesRay Donovan brought him newfound acclaim and attention among critics and audiences, as well as his fourth Golden Globe win in 2014. He also appeared on the thriller series24 in its seventh season.
Despite earlier having liberal views, Voight has gained attention in his later years for his outspokenconservative and religious beliefs.[4][5] He is the father of actressAngelina Jolie and actorJames Haven.
Voight started his off-Broadway career in arevue calledO Oysters, which ran in early 1961.[15][16] He made his Broadway debut in the fall of 1961 as Rolf inThe Sound of Music.[17][18] In the early 1960s, Voight found work in television, appearing in several episodes ofGunsmoke, between 1963 and 1968, as well as guest spots onNaked City andThe Defenders, both in 1963, andTwelve O'Clock High, in 1966 andCimarron Strip in 1968. Voight's theater career took off in January 1965, playing Rodolfo inArthur Miller'sA View from the Bridge in anOff-Broadway revival. Voight's film debut did not come until 1967, when he took a part in Phillip Kaufman's crimefighter spoof,Fearless Frank. He also took a small role in 1967's western,Hour of the Gun, directed by veteranhelmerJohn Sturges. In 1968 he took a role in director Paul Williams'sOut of It.
In 1968, Voight was cast in the groundbreakingMidnight Cowboy (1969), the film that would make his career. He played Joe Buck, a naïve malehustler fromTexas, adrift in New York City. He comes under the tutelage ofDustin Hoffman's Ratso Rizzo, a tubercular pettythief andcon artist. The film explored late 1960s New York and the development of an unlikely, but poignant friendship between the two main characters. Directed byJohn Schlesinger and based on a novel byJames Leo Herlihy, the film struck a chord with critics and audiences. Because of its controversial themes, the film was released with an X rating and would make history by being the only X-rated feature to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Both Voight and Hoffman were nominated for Best Actor, but lost out toJohn Wayne inTrue Grit.
Voight played a directionless young boxer in 1973'sThe All American Boy, then appeared in the 1974 filmConrack, directed byMartin Ritt. Based onPat Conroy's autobiographical novelThe Water Is Wide, Voight portrayed the title character, an idealistic young schoolteacher sent to teach underprivileged black children on a remoteSouth Carolina island. The same year he appeared inThe Odessa File, based onFrederick Forsyth's thriller, as Peter Miller, a young German journalist who discovers a conspiracy to protect formerNazis still operating within Germany. This film first teamed him with the actor-directorMaximilian Schell, who acted out a character named and based on the "Butcher of Riga"Eduard Roschmann, and for whom Voight would appear in 1975'sEnd of the Game, a psychological thriller co-starringJacqueline Bisset and based on a story by Swiss novelist and playwrightFriedrich Dürrenmatt.
According to Joseph McBride's biography ofSteven Spielberg, Voight was Spielberg's first choice for the role of Matt Hooper in the 1975 filmJaws and he turned down the role, which was ultimately played byRichard Dreyfuss.[19] However, in interview with Dr. Ben Carson on September 6, 2024,[20] Voight was asked if he turned down the part of Quint in Jaws; Voight said that the offer of a part in Jaws is "a myth" and that Spielberg had actually offered him a part in a different, less successful film, a role that he turned down because he thought it was a "repeat of the character from Midnight Cowboy". In 1978, Voight portrayed theVietnam veteran Luke Martin inHal Ashby's filmComing Home, and was awardedBest Actor at theCannes Film Festival, for his portrait of a cynical, yet noble paraplegic, reportedly based on real-life Vietnam veteran-turned-antiwar-activistRon Kovic, with whomJane Fonda's character falls in love. The film included a much-talked-about love scene between the two. Fonda won her secondBest Actress award for her role, and Voight won for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Oscars.[21] In 1979, Voight once again put onboxing gloves, starring as an alcoholic ex-heavyweight inFranco Zeffirelli'sThe Champ withFaye Dunaway andRicky Schroder. The film was an international success, but less popular with American audiences.
He next reteamed with director Ashby in 1982'sLookin' to Get Out, in which he played Alex Kovac, a con man who has run into debt with New York mobsters and hopes to win enough in Las Vegas to pay them off. Voight both co-wrote the script and also co-produced. He also produced and acted in 1983'sTable for Five, in which he played a widower bringing up his children by himself. Also in 1983, Voight was slated to play Robert Harmon inJohn Cassavetes' Golden Bear-winningLove Streams, having performed the role on stage in 1981. However, a few weeks before shooting began, Voight announced that he also wanted to direct the picture and was consequently dropped.[22] In 1985, Voight teamed up with Russian writer and directorAndrei Konchalovsky to play the role of escaped con Oscar "Manny" Manheim inRunaway Train. The script was based on a story byAkira Kurosawa, and paired Voight withEric Roberts as a fellow escapee, andRebecca De Mornay as an assistant locomotive engineer. Voight received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and won theGolden Globe's award for Best Actor. Roberts was also honored for his performance, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Voight followed up this and other performances with a role in the 1986 film,Desert Bloom, and reportedly experienced a "spiritual awakening" toward the end of the decade. In 1989, Voight starred in and helped writeEternity, which dealt with a television reporter's efforts to uncover corruption.
He made his first acting debut intotelevision films, acting in 1991'sChernobyl: The Final Warning, followed byThe Last of his Tribe, in 1992. He followed with 1992'sThe Rainbow Warrior for ABC, the story of theill-fated Greenpeace ship sunk byFrench operatives inAuckland Harbour. For the remainder of the decade, Voight would alternate between feature films and television movies, including a starring role in the 1993 miniseriesReturn to Lonesome Dove, a continuation ofLarry McMurtry'swestern saga, 1989'sLonesome Dove. Voight played Captain Woodrow F. Call, the part played byTommy Lee Jones in the original miniseries. Voight made a cameo appearance as himself on theSeinfeld episode "The Mom & Pop Store" airing November 17, 1994, in whichGeorge Costanza buys a car that appears to be owned by Jon Voight. Voight described the process leading up to the episode in an interview on the Red Carpet at the 2006 BAFTA Emmy Awards:
Well what happened was I was asked to be on Seinfeld. They said: "Would you do a Seinfeld?" And I said, and I just happened to know to see a few Seinfelds and I knew these guys were really tops; they were really, really clever guys, and I liked the show. And so I said "Sure!" and I thought they would ask me to do a walk-on, the way it came: "Would you come be part of the show?" And I said "Yeah, sure I'll do it." You know what I mean? Then I got the script and my name was on every page because it was about my car. And I laughed; it was hysterically funny. So I was really delighted to do it. The writer came up to me and he said "Jon, would you come take a look at my car to see if you ever owned it?", because the writer wrote it from a real experience where someone sold him the car based on the fact that it was my car. And I went down and I looked at the car and I said "No, I never had this car." So unfortunately I had to give him the bad news. But it was a funny episode.[23]
In 1992, Voight appeared in the HBO filmThe Last of His Tribe.[24] In 1995, Voight played the role of "Nate", a sophisticatedfence, in the crime drama filmHeat, directed byMichael Mann, and appeared in the television filmsConvict Cowboy andThe Tin Soldier, also directing the latter film. Voight next appeared in 1996's blockbuster filmMission: Impossible, directed byBrian De Palma and starringTom Cruise. Voight played the role of spymaster James Phelps, a role originated byPeter Graves in the television series. In 1997, Voight appeared in six films, beginning withRosewood, based on the 1923 destruction of the primarily black town ofRosewood, Florida, by the white residents of nearby Sumner. Voight played John Wright, a white Rosewood storeowner who follows his conscience and protects his black customers from the white rage. He next appeared inAnaconda, set in theAmazon; he played Paul Sarone, a snake hunter obsessed with a fabled giantanaconda, who hijacks an unwittingNational Geographic film crew who are looking for a remote Indian tribe. Voight next appeared in a supporting role inOliver Stone'sU Turn, portraying a blind man. He took a supporting role inThe Rainmaker, adopted from theJohn Grisham novel and directed byFrancis Ford Coppola. He played an unscrupulous lawyer representing aninsurance company, facing off with a neophyte lawyer played byMatt Damon. His last film of 1997 wasBoys Will Be Boys, a family comedy directed byDom DeLuise.
The following year, Voight had the lead role in the television filmThe Fixer, in which he played Jack Killoran, a lawyer who crosses ethical lines in order to "fix" things for his wealthy clients. A near-fatal accident awakens his dormant conscience and Killoran soon runs afoul of his former clients. He also took a substantial role inTony Scott's 1998 political thriller,Enemy of the State, in which he playedWill Smith's character's stalwart antagonist from the NSA. Voight was reunited with director Boorman in 1998'sThe General. Set inDublin,Ireland, the film tells the true-life story of the charismatic leader of a gang of thieves,Martin Cahill, at odds with both the police and theProvisional IRA. Voight portrays Inspector Ned Kenny, determined to bring Cahill to justice. He next appeared in 1999'sVarsity Blues. He played a blunt, autocratic football coach, pitted in a test of wills against his star player, portrayed byJames Van Der Beek. Produced by fledglingMTV Pictures, the film became a surprise hit and helped connect Voight with a younger audience. Voight played Noah in the 1999 television productionNoah's Ark, and appeared inSecond String, also for TV. He also appeared withCheryl Ladd in the featureA Dog of Flanders, a remake of a popular film set in Belgium.
Voight in June 2013
Voight next portrayed PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt in 2001's action/war filmPearl Harbor, having accepted the role whenGene Hackman declined (his performance was received favorably by critics). Also that year, he appeared as Lord Croft, father of the title character ofLara Croft: Tomb Raider.[25] Based on the popular video game, the digital adventuress was played on the big screen by Voight's own real-life daughterAngelina Jolie. That year, he also appeared inZoolander, directed byBen Stiller who starred as the title character, a vapid supermodel with humble roots. Voight appeared as Zoolander's coal-miner father. The film extracted both pathos and cruel humor from the scenes of Zoolander's return home, when he entered the mines alongside his father and brothers and Voight's character expressed his unspoken disgust at his son's chosen profession. Also in 2001, Voight joinedLeelee Sobieski,Hank Azaria andDavid Schwimmer in the made-for-television filmUprising, which was based on the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto. Voight played Major-GeneralJuergen Stroop, the German officer responsible for the destruction of the Jewish resistance, and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
Director Michael Mann tagged Voight for a supporting role in the 2001 biopicAli, which starredWill Smith as the controversial former heavyweight champ,Muhammad Ali. Voight was almost unrecognizable under his make-up andtoupée, as he impersonated the sports broadcasterHoward Cosell. Voight received his fourth Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his performance. Also in 2001, he appeared in the television mini-seriesJack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story along withVanessa Redgrave,Matthew Modine,Richard Attenborough, andMia Sara. In 2003, he played the role of Marion Seville/Mr. Sir inHoles. In 2004, Voight joinedNicolas Cage, inNational Treasure as Patrick Gates, the father of Cage's character. In 2005, he played the title role in the second part of CBS' miniseries,Pope John Paul II.
On January 16, 2025, it was announced bypresident-electDonald Trump that Voight would serve in a new role as a Special Ambassador toHollywood, sharing the role with fellow actorsMel Gibson andSylvester Stallone. Trump stated that he wants these actors to make Hollywood "stronger than ever before" by bringing back business lost to "foreign countries".[33] According toDeadline, by May 2025, Voight had held meetings with both Hollywood unions and executives on issues with domestic film production. Stallone and Gibson were not involved and have not held similar talks of their own.[34]
In a July 28, 2008,op-ed inThe Washington Times, Voight wrote that he regretted his youthfulanti-war activism, and claimed that the peace movement of that time was driven by "Marxist propaganda". He also claimed that the radicals in the peace movement were responsible for the communists coming to power in Vietnam and Cambodia and for failing to stop the subsequent slaughter of 1.5 million people in theKilling Fields.[37]
In the same op-ed, Voight also criticized theDemocratic Party andBarack Obama's bid to become president, claiming that the Democrats had created "a propaganda campaign with subliminal messages, creating a God-like figure (Obama)" who would "demoralize this country and help create a socialist America."[37] He claimed that Obama had grown up with the teachings of very angry, militant white and black people around him.[37]
Voight endorsedRepublican presidential nomineesMitt Romney andDonald Trump in the2012 and2016 presidential elections respectively.[39][40] Speaking at an inauguration rally for Trump in January 2017, Voight said, "God answered all our prayers" by granting Trump the White House. In May 2019, Voight released a short two-part video on Twitter supporting Trump's policies, and calling him "the greatest president sinceAbraham Lincoln."[41]
In November 2020, after theUnited States presidential election, Voight released a statement through hisTwitter account, in which he stated he was very angry that Joe Biden had won the election. He further implied thatBiden had committed electoral fraud and proclaimed that the United States was engaged in "our greatest fight since theCivil War – the battle of righteousness versusSatan, because theseleftists are evil, corrupt, and they want to tear down this nation." He finished the statement by imploring his followers to not let the2020 presidential election be certified without attempting to make sure it was accurate first. After theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack, and after Biden's victory was confirmed in Congress on January 7, Voight released one more video on his Twitter account for his followers, telling them to cease protesting.[42][43]
In 2022, followinga mass shooting at an elementary school inUvalde, Texas, Voight posted a video in support ofgun control, arguing that "proper qualifications" and "testing" should be necessary for gun ownership.[44][45] In November 2023, Voight expressed disappointment in his daughter Angelina Jolie, criticizing her views on theGaza war and accusing her of spreading misinformation. Whereas Jolie had called for a ceasefire, Voight emphasized Israel's right to protect its people, stating that the conflict was about preserving theHoly Land and the Jewish people.[46][47] Reportedly this was one factor leading Jolie to once again cut off contact with him.[48] Voight again endorsedDonald Trump's candidacy for president in 2024.[49]
In 1962, Voight married actressLauri Peters, whom he met when they both appeared in the original Broadway production ofThe Sound of Music. They divorced in 1967. He married actressMarcheline Bertrand in 1971.[50] They separated in 1976, filed for divorce in 1978, and finalized it in 1980. Their children,James Haven (born 1973) andAngelina Jolie (born 1975), went on to enter the film business as actors and producers. Through Jolie, he has six grandchildren.
^"The 51st Academy Awards".Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. October 5, 2014.Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 16, 2018.
^Cassavetes on Cassavetes, Ed. Ray Carney, London: Faber and Faber, 2001, p. 474
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