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Jon Voight: Roles
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Jon Voight is a very talented actor, bringing something to every role. As he himself admitted, he wasn't a good father or husband. If he had done nothing bad except call Angelina crazy in front of the whole world on tv - without giving her the courtesy of a heads-up, blindsiding her, IN THE MIDDLE OF MADDOX'S ADOPTION PROCESS, endangering the adoption - I would have severed the relationship too.
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Jon Voight is a multitalented (but too-little-used) actor whose career is a study in schizophrenia. In the role that solidified his stardom, he played a boyishly naive, inexperienced character who is constantly victimized; as he reached middle-age, his best parts came as slick corporate villains and grizzled, all-too-experienced heavies, intimidating outlaws one would cross the street to avoid. In between came his most likable character: an Everyman war survivor whose time in battle has at once crippled his body but sharpened his mind, and his sensitivities.
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From All Movie Guide: The son of a Czech-American golf pro, Jon Voight was active in student theatricals in high school and at Catholic University. In 1960 he began studying privately with Neighborhood Playhouse mentor Sanford Meisner, and made his off-Broadway debut that same year in O Oysters, receiving a daunting review which opined that he could "neither walk nor talk." Fortunately, Voight persevered, and in 1961 took over the role of "singing Nazi" Rolf in the Broadway hit The Sound of Music (his Liesl was Laurie Peters, who became his first wife).
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While Jon Voight was discovering how to stand up, The Academy gave a standing ovation to these movies and actors: 'You Can't Take It With You'- Directed by Frank Capra won the Best Movie Academy Award in 1938. Also this year, the Academy Award for Best Actor went to Spencer Tracy for his role in 'Boys Town' and the Best Actress Award went to Bette Davis for her role in 'Jezebel'.
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In 1978, Voight assumed a role that would earn him a second major triumph, that of the paraplegic Vietnam vet Luke Martin in the Hal Ashby-directed film Coming Home. The film marked the beginning of the post-Vietnam War era and reflected a coming-to-terms with the emotional costs of both the war and the anti-war movement. The presence of Jane Fonda in the female lead assured some controversy, given her outspoken views during the war, but her portrayal of a military wife who volunteers her services to help disabled vets was well-received. Voight, who was awarded Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, played an embittered paraplegic, reportedly based on real-life Vietnam veteran-turned-anti-war activist Ron Kovic, with whom Fonda falls in love. The film included a much-talked-about love scene between the two. The film was major winner at the Oscars that year with Jane Fonda winning her second Best Actress statuette and presenter Diana Ross calling Voight to the podium, where she presented him with his first Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
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Voight was born in Yonkers, New York to Barbara (Kamp) (1910-1995) and Elmer Voight (1909-1973) [1], a professional golfer. His maternal grandparents were German and his paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Kosice, Slovakia who worked as a coal miner in Shickshinny, Pennsylvania.[2][3][4] Voight was raised in the Roman Catholic faith[5] and attended the all-boys Archbishop Stepinac High School[6] in nearby White Plains, New York, where he first took an interest in acting and played the role of Puck in a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. After graduating from high school in 1956, he went to college at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he majored in art and graduated with a B.A. in 1960. At CUA, he demonstrated his artistic skill by designing the cardinal that adorned the center of the floor of the basketball court. This section of floor now resides on display in the school's Pryzbyla University Center.
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