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.

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.

Voight was a guest at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

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 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 ".

* 1938: Messerschmitt starts the preliminary design of a twin-engine jet fighter under the direction of Waldermar Voight.

He disdains his football-obsessed father ( Thomas F. Duffy ) and dreads playing it under legendary coach Bud Kilmer ( Jon Voight ), a verbally abusive, controlling authority who believes in winning " at all costs ".

Going on to the NCAA finals played at College Park, Maryland, they face the top-ranked University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp ( Jon Voight ).

Voight gave critically acclaimed biographical performances during the 2000s ( decade ), appearing as sportscaster Howard Cosell in Ali ( 2001 ), as Nazi officer Jürgen Stroop in Uprising ( 2001 ), and as Pope John Paul II in the television miniseries of the same name ( 2005 ).

* Jon Voight as Howard Cosell

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.

Jonathan Vincent " Jon " Voight (; born December 29, 1938 ) is an American actor.

Voight is the father of actors Angelina Jolie and James Haven.

After graduation, Voight moved to New York City, where he pursued an acting career.

In 1962, Voight married actress Lauri Peters, whom he met when they both appeared in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music.

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.

Voight also took a small role in 1967's western, Hour of the Gun, directed by veteran helmer John Sturges.

In 1968 Voight took a role in director Paul Williams ' Out of It.

Voight played Joe Buck, a naïve male hustler from Texas, adrift in New York City.

Both Voight and co-star Hoffman were nominated for Best Actor, but lost out to John Wayne in True Grit.

In 1970 Voight appeared in Mike Nichols ' adaptation of Catch-22, and re-teamed with director Paul Williams to star in The Revolutionary, as a left wing college student struggling with his conscience.

Voight next appeared in 1972's Deliverance.

The film and the performances of Voight and co-star Burt Reynolds received great critical acclaim and were popular with audiences.

Voight played a directionless young boxer in 1973's The All American Boy, then appeared in the 1974 film, Conrack, directed by Martin Ritt.

Based on Pat Conroy's autobiographical novel The Water Is Wide, Voight portrayed the title character, an idealistic young schoolteacher sent to teach underprivileged black children on a remote South Carolina island.

This film first teamed him with the actor-director Maximilian Schell, who acted out a character named, and based on, " Butcher Of Riga " Eduard Roschmann, and for whom Voight would appear in 1976's End of the Game, a psychological thriller based on a story by Swiss novelist and playwright, Friedrich Dürrenmatt.

In 1978, Voight portrayed the paraplegic Vietnam veteran Luke Martin in Hal Ashby's film Coming Home.

Jane Fonda won her second Best Actress award for her role, and Voight won for Best Actor in a Leading Role.