'I've just been fortunate': Jon Voight says he feels 'blessed' to have a long career in Hollywood

'To have the energy to keep going, keep being surprised and keep being available to change to have the courage to experiment and try new areas,' Jon Voight said
PUBLISHED NOV 7, 2022
Jon Voight has appeared in over 100 movies and is currently starring in the new horror film 'Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders' (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Jon Voight has appeared in over 100 movies and is currently starring in the new horror film 'Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders' (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jon Voight, the father of actress Angelina Jolie, reportedly considers himself lucky to have had a successful career in Hollywood. Since breaking into the business in 1963, the 83-year-old actor has starred in over 100 films. He once said that the "key to longevity" is just to be extremely "lucky" all of the time.

"I think - that's a funny question. What's the secret to longevity? I think you have to be blessed. Everyone has a gift, we all have gifts. Everybody. Nobody's different. We all have something special because each one of us is unique," he said, adding, "When you get a talent and the talent is surrounded by some loving energies so that talent comes forth, that is the event. Like in this film, there are some people who have come forth because of this experience."

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"I've had a lot of people help me throughout my career and I've had a lot of encouragement in times when I got down. I've just been fortunate, God has been good to me a little bit and has taken care of me. I'm fumbling around because it's a difficult question for me to answer," the veteran actor said, according to Aceshowbiz. "But I don't know what the answer to longevity is, except you have to be very fortunate."

Actress Angelina Jolie and her father Jon Voight arrive at the Vanity Fair post Oscar party March 25, 2001 at Morton's restaurant in West Hollywood. Jolie is wearing a Dolce and Gabbana dress with hair by Paul DeArmas.
Actress Angelina Jolie and her father Jon Voight arrive at the Vanity Fair post-Oscar party on March 25, 2001, at Morton's restaurant in West Hollywood (Jason Kirk/Getty Images)

The 'Midnight Cowboy' actor, who is the father of 'Breaking Dawn' actor James Haven and fellow Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, is currently starring in the new horror film 'Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders'. He explained that he has preserved his career by switching up the kinds of roles he has played over the years.

Voight has had four Academy Award nominations over his career and one Academy Award win. In addition, he has received eleven nominations and four awards at the Golden Globes. Additionally, he has acted in some of the most well-known movies from different eras, such as 'Deliverance' in 1972, 'Runaway Train' in 1985, 'Heat' in 1995, 'Enemy of the State' in 1998, and 'The Five People from Heaven' in 2004.

He told HeyUGuys, "You can talk about genetics and a lot of other things too but in terms of work and to have the energy to keep going, keep being surprised and keep being available to change to have the courage to experiment and try new areas. In my career, I have changed, I used to be a cute younger actor and then I took a movie called 'Runaway Train' and I became a physical force. That changed me and I started doing a whole different career, I played 'Heat', I played 'Ray Donovan' and was able to open up 'Anaconda', I became a different aspect too so I was able to change in my career."

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