Voight was born in Yonkers, New York, the son of Barbara ( née Kamp ; 1910 – 1995 ) and Elmer Voight ( né Voytka ; 1909 – 1973 ), a professional golfer.

Voight was raised as a Catholic, and attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, where he first took an interest in acting, playing the comedic role of Count Pepi Le Loup in the school's annual musical, The Song of Norway.

Voight was estranged from his children for several years, but they reconciled in 2007 after Bertrand's death.

In 1969, Voight was cast in the groundbreaking Midnight Cowboy, a film that would make his career.

Voight was Steven Spielberg's first choice for the role of Matt Hooper in the 1975 blockbuster Jaws, but he turned down the role, which was ultimately played by Richard Dreyfuss.

Voight, who was awarded Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, for his portrait of an embittered paraplegic, reportedly based on real-life Vietnam veteran-turned-anti-war activist Ron Kovic, with whom Fonda's character falls in love.

The script was based on a story by Akira Kurosawa, and paired Voight with Eric Roberts as a fellow escapee.

The year 1997 was a busy time for Voight in which he appeared in six films, beginning with Rosewood, based on the 1923 destruction of the primarily black town of Rosewood, Florida, by the white residents of nearby Sumner.

Voight was reunited with director Boorman in 1998's The General.

Voight next portrayed President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 2001's action / war film, Pearl Harbor, having accepted the role when Gene Hackman declined ( his performance was received favorably by critics ).

Also in 2001, Voight joined Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria and David Schwimmer in the made-for-television movie Uprising, which was based on the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto.

Voight was almost unrecognizable under his make-up and toupee, as he impersonated the sports broadcaster Howard Cosell.

In the critically acclaimed CBS miniseries Pope John Paul II, released in December 2005, Voight, who was raised a Catholic, portrayed the pontiff from the time of his election until his death, garnering an Emmy nomination for the role.

" In another interview in Miami with AventuraUSA. com, Voight said he first met Giuliani " years ago " at a movie premiere in New York City and the main reason for his support was Giuliani's public poise in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

When appearing on Governor Mike Huckabee's Fox News talk show, Voight said Obama was arrogant, caused civil unrest and stood for all that this country was against during its past.

In November 2009 Voight was a featured speaker, at a Tea Party protesting the healthcare reform legislation, and again at a rally outside the capital on March 20, 2010.

During his speech at the capital, Voight stated the White House was using " radical Chicago tactics " in hopes to pass health care reform.

Screenwriter Graham Yost was told by his father, Canadian television host Elwy Yost, about a film called Runaway Train starring Jon Voight, about a train that speeds out of control.

The screenplay was reshaped significantly by the circle of talent who would eventually bring it to the screen: Fonda, Ashby, Wexler, Jon Voight, producer Hellman and screenwriters Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones.

The film was going to be directed by John Schlesinger who had worked with producer Hellman and Voight in Midnight Cowboy, but he left the project finding the material too alien to his background.

Voight had participated in the antiwar movement and was a friend of Fonda, who was instrumental in helping him land the role, even though he had fallen from popularity since his Midnight Cowboy day.

In the early 1960s, Voight found work in television, appearing in several episodes of Gunsmoke, between 1962 and 1966, as well as guest spots on Naked City, and The Defenders, both in 1963, and Twelve O ' Clock High, in 1966.

William Hurt ( at Circle Rep Off-Broadway, memorably performing " To Be Or Not to Be " while lying on the floor ), Jon Voight at Rutgers, and Christopher Walken ( fiercely ) at Stratford CT have all played the role, as has Diane Venora at the Public Theatre.

He has two brothers, Barry Voight ( born 1937 ), a former volcanologist at Pennsylvania State University, and Wesley Voight ( born 1940 ), known as Chip Taylor, a singer-songwriter who penned " Wild Thing " and " Angel of the Morning ".

Voight at the 60th Academy Awards | Academy Awards in 1988

Voight described the process leading up to the episode in an interview on the Red Carpet at the 2006 BAFTA Emmy Awards:

Voight at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival | Cannes Film Festival in 1993

In March 2008, Voight appeared at a rally aboard the in San Diego, California, for the kick-off of Vets for Freedom's National Heroes Tour.

" In August 2011, Voight visited terror victims at Soroka Medical Center in the Negev after attacks from Gaza.

There sat actor Jon Voight, staring gravely at the host, who praised the thespian's " courage.

She won her second Oscar in 1978 for Coming Home, as a Marine officer's wife who volunteers at a veterans ' hospital and becomes involved with a disabled Vietnam War veteran ( played by Jon Voight ).

After seeing the Voight movie, Graham decided that it would have been better if there had been a bomb on board a bus with the bus being forced to travel at 20 mph to prevent an actual explosion.

Coming Home premiered at the at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival where Voight won the Award for Best Actor for his performance.

In Variety magazine, Todd McCarthy wrote, " The director's visual and aural dapplings are strikingly effective at their best, but over the long haul don't represent a satisfactory alternative to in-depth dramatic scenes ; one longs, for example, for even one sequence in which Ali and Dundee discuss boxing strategy or assess an opponent ", but he did have praise for the performances: " The cast is outstanding, from Smith, who carries the picture with consummate skill, and Voight, who is unrecognizable under all the makeup but nails Cosell's distinctive vocal cadences ".

In the 1996 film update of Mission: Impossible, the character of Phelps ( played by Jon Voight ) was re-imagined as a traitor who murders three fellow IMF agents only to be killed himself at the end of the film, a decision that disappointed Graves, as well as many fans of the original series.

In June 29, 2012, Beatty appeared at a 40th anniversary screening of Deliverance in June 2012 at Warner Bros., together with Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Jon Voight.

Voight endorsed former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for the 2008 Republican Party nomination.

In an April 11, 2008, interview on the CNN Headline News Glenn Beck Show Voight stated that he had thrown his support to Republican Senator John McCain for President.

In May 2008, Voight paid a solidarity visit to Israel in honor of its 60th birthday.

In September 2008, Voight appeared in a video from the Republican National Convention admonishing viewers to support the United States military.

On June 8, 2009, Voight hosted a Republican congressional fundraiser, and he also made his own speech within the event, criticizing President Obama.