You know that feeling when you're watching a movie from the 90s and a guy with a terrifyingly intense stare and a questionable accent pops up? Chances are, it's Jon Voight. Most people today probably recognize him as the "dad" figure—the guy playing the Secretary of Defense in Transformers or the cranky patriarch Patrick Gates in National Treasure.
But honestly, if you only know him from those big-budget blockbusters, you've missed the actual reason he’s a legend.
His career isn't just long; it’s a chaotic, high-wire act. We’re talking about a man who went from playing a naive street hustler in an X-rated Best Picture winner to hunting a giant CGI snake in the Amazon. It makes no sense. And yet, it works.
The New Hollywood Breakthrough (1969–1979)
Basically, Jon Voight didn't just walk into Hollywood; he kicked the door down in 1969 with Midnight Cowboy.
Think about this for a second. He played Joe Buck, a Texan who moves to New York thinking he's a gift to women, only to end up broke and desperate, clinging to a dying con artist played by Dustin Hoffman. It was the only X-rated movie to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars. Voight was heartbreaking in it. He wasn't some polished leading man; he was raw and vulnerable.
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Then came the 70s, which was really his decade to prove he wasn't a fluke.
- Deliverance (1972): You’ve heard the banjo music. You know the "squeal like a pig" scene. But Voight’s performance as Ed, the guy forced to find a killer instinct to survive a nightmare river trip, is what anchors the whole movie.
- Coming Home (1978): This is the big one. He won the Oscar for Best Actor playing Luke Martin, a paraplegic Vietnam veteran. He actually spent time with real veterans at Downey Hospital to get the physicality right. It wasn't just "acting" for a trophy; it felt real.
- The Champ (1979): If you want to cry until your face hurts, watch him as the washed-up boxer Billy Flynn. The chemistry he had with a tiny Ricky Schroder is still one of the most emotional things ever put on film.
The Mid-Career Pivot: From Art to "Anaconda"
Something happened in the 80s and 90s. Voight sorta shifted gears. After a massive performance in Runaway Train (1985)—which got him another Oscar nod—he started showing up in movies you wouldn't necessarily expect from an "A-list auteur" actor.
You've got Nate in Heat (1995), where he’s the cool, collected middleman for Robert De Niro’s crew. He’s barely in it, but he commands the screen. Then, in 1996, he takes on the role of Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible. For fans of the original TV show, it was a huge shock to see the hero turned into the villain, but Voight played that betrayal with a cold, corporate nastiness that defined the movie.
And then there’s Anaconda (1997).
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Look, there is no way to talk about jon voight movies and tv shows without mentioning Paul Sarone. It is one of the most "unhinged" performances in history. He does this weird, squinty-eyed leer and an accent that seems to come from five different continents at once. Critics hated it at the time, but now? It’s a cult classic. He’s clearly having the time of his life being the bad guy.
The Small Screen Renaissance: Ray Donovan and Beyond
While many actors of his generation slowed down, Voight just moved to television.
If you haven't seen Ray Donovan, you’re missing his best work in decades. Playing Mickey Donovan—the manipulative, dancing, absolute nightmare of a father—gave him a whole new life. He won a Golden Globe for it in 2014, and honestly, he deserved it. He managed to make a character who does terrible things somehow... likable? Or at least fun to watch.
He’s also done a ton of TV movies and miniseries, like:
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- Uprising (2001) – Playing a Nazi officer, which was a chilling departure.
- Pope John Paul II (2005) – He actually played the Pope. The range is wild.
- 24 (Season 7) – He played the villainous Jonas Hodges.
Recent Work and the 2020s
Even as he's entered his mid-80s, the guy is still working. He showed up in Francis Ford Coppola's divisive epic Megalopolis (2024) as Hamilton Crassus III. He also played the title role in Reagan (2024) as a former KGB agent.
People often get distracted by his real-life politics these days, but if you look strictly at the work, he remains one of the few actors from the "New Hollywood" era who never truly stopped. He didn't retire to a ranch. He stayed in the trenches, taking roles in everything from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) to gritty indie films like The Painter (2024).
Key Takeaways for Your Watchlist
If you're looking to actually understand his range, don't just watch the hits. Do a "triple feature" of Midnight Cowboy, Anaconda, and a few episodes of Ray Donovan. You won't even believe it's the same person.
What to do next:
If you're a fan of character-driven drama, start with Coming Home. It’s a masterclass in subtlety. If you want high-stakes tension, go for Runaway Train. It’s one of those "forgotten" 80s gems that is way better than the title suggests. Either way, you'll see why he's survived in this business for over sixty years.