Jon Voight is an acting legend. More than that, he’s kind, charismatic and an incomparable thespian. At 85, he’s still got wide range and is razor sharp. But whether he plays a bit part, leading man or anything in between, anyone who’s seen his films can easily cite Voight for being a standout.
Think about Midnight Cowboy, Varsity Blues, Enemy of the State, Heat, Mission: Impossible, Deliverance, The Champ, or his Oscar-winning turn in Coming Home and it’s clear that Voight’s performance sticks with you years after the credits have rolled.
There are a few constants established and maintained in his career beyond his towering 6’-2” frame and that’s his intensity, his voice, and a seeming ease at playing villains. Yet it’s the last characteristic that helps propel his work; he makes villains sympathetic. Voight believes he’s “good at playing suffering souls.” Further, he feels it’s a responsibility to bring people on a journey and by playing the heavy, “it lets them feel for you and see your vulnerability.”
Voight certainly achieves that in his latest film. In Mercy, the veteran actor plays the head of an Irish crime family. While Patrick Quinn maintains his cool, he is poised and lethal and this patriarchal force can intimidate then erupt with incredible speed and conviction. In fact, talking about the stunts in this Tony Dean Smith directed actioner, Voight honestly made me flinch while describing and showing how he threw punches on set.
We spoke to this Academy Award-winning, Golden Globe-winning and BAFTA-winning actor for nearly thirty minutes, and discussed his craft, his approach and the fun he had and continues to have for sixty years. Yes, 6-0.
Perhaps the most important take away we got from our talk was actually some advice he received while filming Andrey Konchalovskiy’s Runaway Train in 1985. It’s worth listening to his account of it, but we can all take the words “don’t afraid” to heart.
It’s not often we get to speak with Hollywood royalty, but allow us to roll out the red carpet the fine china for an entertaining and enchanting interview with Jon Voight!
Paramount Global Content Distribution is releasing MERCY in Select Theaters May 12, On Digital May 19, and On Demand June 2, 2023.
MERCY stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Leah Gibson and Jon Voight and is directed by Tony Dean Smith.
An ex-military doctor finds herself in a deadly battle for survival when the Irish mafia seize control of the hospital at which she works. When her son is taken hostage, she is forced to rely upon her battle-hardened past and lethal skills after realizing there’s no one left to save the day but her.
