Jon Voight

Jonathan Vincent Voight was born on December 29, 1938, in Yonkers, New York. His father, Elmer Samuel Voight, was a professional golfer, and his mother was Barbara Agnes (Kamp). He attended Archbishop Stepinac High School, graduating in 1956, and later pursued higher education at The Catholic University of America, majoring in art and graduating in 1960. Following his graduation, Voight moved to New York City to pursue an acting career, initially finding work in television with guest roles in series such as “Naked City,” “The Defenders,” and “Gunsmoke” in the early 1960s. His notable theatrical debut came in 1965 as Rodolfo in an Off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge.”

Voight’s film career began with minor roles in “Fearless Frank” (1967) and the Western “Hour of the Gun” (1967). His breakthrough arrived with the critically acclaimed film “Midnight Cowboy” (1969), where he played Joe Buck, an aspiring gigolo in New York City. This role earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He continued to gain critical recognition throughout the 1970s with performances in films like “Catch-22” (1970) and “Deliverance” (1972), the latter being a commercial success. A career-defining moment came in 1978 with “Coming Home,” for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Luke Martin, a paraplegic Vietnam War veteran. This period solidified his reputation as a leading actor in Hollywood.

His career saw continued success and new directions in the following decades. In the 1980s, he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role as Oscar “Manny” Manheim in “Runaway Train” (1985). The 1990s brought him into mainstream blockbusters with roles such as spymaster James Phelps in “Mission: Impossible” (1996) and the antagonist Paul Serone in “Anaconda” (1997). In the 2000s, he garnered his fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his transformation into sports journalist Howard Cosell in “Ali” (2001), and also notably appeared as President Franklin D. Roosevelt in “Pearl Harbor” (2001) and Lord Richard Croft in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2001). More recently, his role as Mickey Donovan in the Showtime series “Ray Donovan” (2013–2020) earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.