Jon Voight Movies and TV Shows: Complete Guide to His Career

There aren’t many actors who go from playing a naive Texas hustler in an X-rated drama to facing off against Tom Cruise in a blockbuster spy franchise, but Jon Voight has done exactly that—and plenty more in between. Over six decades, he’s stacked up an Academy Award, a shelf of Golden Globe nominations, and a filmography that stretches from prestige dramas like Deliverance to mass-appeal hits like Transformers. This guide walks through the essential Jon Voight movies and TV shows, the milestones that defined his career, and the family story that keeps his name in the headlines.

Birth year: 1938 ·
Academy Awards won: 1 (Best Actor for Coming Home) ·
Notable films: Over 60 ·
Golden Globe nominations: 7 ·
Relationship with Angelina Jolie: Estranged

The biographical table below captures five core facts that highlight a career defined by critical acclaim and family controversy.

What movie made Jon Voight famous?

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

• Voight’s breakout role came as Joe Buck, a naive Texan who moves to New York City to become a male prostitute. The film earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
• The movie won the Oscar for Best Picture and remains the only X-rated film ever to do so.

Deliverance (1972)

• Voight starred as Ed Gentry, one of four suburban men on a canoe trip gone violently wrong in the Georgia wilderness.
• The film became a cultural touchstone, especially for its “Dueling Banjos” sequence and its raw depiction of survival.

Coming Home (1978)

• Voight won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Luke Martin, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran (Britannica Biography).
• His performance opposite Jane Fonda earned widespread praise and cemented his reputation as a dramatic leading man.

The implication: Voight’s early career was built on risk-taking, and those risks paid off in both critical respect and lasting fame.

What TV shows has Jon Voight appeared in?

Early appearances on Gunsmoke and Naked City

• Voight’s first on-screen credit was a 1963 guest role on the crime drama Naked City.
• He followed with guest spots on Gunsmoke, The Defenders, and other classic 1960s series.

Uprising (2001)

• Voight played Nazi SS officer Jürgen Stroop in this HBO historical drama about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

Pope John Paul II miniseries (2005)

• He portrayed Pope John Paul II in a two-part CBS miniseries directed by John Kent Harrison.

Ray Donovan (2013–2020)

• Voight played Mickey Donovan, the patriarch of a dysfunctional family in the Showtime drama series (Rotten Tomatoes).
• His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination and introduced him to a new generation of TV audiences.

The pattern: Voight’s TV career spans six decades, from apprentice guest star to award-nominated lead.

Why don’t Angelina Jolie and Jon Voight get along?

Public disagreements over politics

• Voight has been outspoken about his conservative political views, while Angelina Jolie has aligned with progressive causes. Their public comments about each other have fueled media coverage of the rift.

Angelina’s estrangement after her parents’ divorce

• Angelina Jolie dropped her father’s surname in 2002, stating she no longer wanted to be associated with him publicly.
• The estrangement deepened after Voight’s divorce from Marcheline Bertrand, Angelina’s mother, in the late 1970s.

Voight’s statements about Brad Pitt

• Voight has called for Brad Pitt to “end” his divorce from Angelina Jolie, a statement that drew public pushback from Angelina.

What ethnicity is Jon Voight?

Ancestry of Jon Voight

• Voight is of Slovak, German, and English descent.
• His paternal grandparents were Slovak immigrants who settled in the United States in the early 1900s.

Family background

• He has also identified as part of his maternal German heritage.

What is Jon Voight’s net worth?

Estimated net worth in 2025

• Jon Voight’s net worth is estimated at $30 million, based on his earnings from films, television, and endorsements.

Sources of income

• Earnings come from acting in over 60 film credits and multiple TV series.
• He has also invested in real estate, including properties in California and New York.

Career timeline

Seven milestones show a career of reinvention — from TV guest actor to Oscar winner to franchise supporting player.

The pattern: Voight’s career has been long, varied, and punctuated by peaks of critical acclaim. For anyone studying how to sustain a six-decade acting career, the timeline shows a simple truth: keep working, keep choosing interesting roles, and don’t be afraid to let your family drama unfold in public.

Quotes

I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve been able to do what I love, and I’ve been blessed with wonderful children. I hope that the legacy I leave is one of hard work and dedication to my craft.

— Jon Voight, in an interview with People

I don’t have a relationship with my father. I think it’s important to be honest about that.

— Angelina Jolie, in an interview with People

For Voight, the gap between those two statements—a father’s pride and a daughter’s estrangement—may be the most defining story of his later years. The career milestones are secure. The personal reconciliation is not.

Frequently asked questions

For anyone exploring the full scope of Jon Voight’s work, the journey stretches from small-screen guest roles in the early 1960s to blockbuster appearances in the 1990s and beyond. The Oscar win remains the peak, but the sheer variety of his filmography—spanning prestige dramas, adventure thrillers, and television miniseries—means there’s always another role to discover. For the West Virginia reader or the Boston film buff, the takeaway is the same: Jon Voight’s career is a lesson in longevity, versatility, and the complication of family ties that no amount of fame can untangle.

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