Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 08/21/24

From left to right. The legendary actor Jon Voight started his acting career in Broadway in the 1960s He soon moved on to television guest roles in classic series such as Naked City, The Defenders, 12 O’Clock High and Gunsmoke before his career really took off. He hit it on the big screen with such hits as Midnight Cowboy (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Deliverance (1972), Coming Home (1978, for which he won the Best Actor Academy Award) and The Champ (1979, opposite a young Ricky Schroder in his first role). He has continued to be a sought-after actor well into the 2000s and to this day. He played Pope John Paul II in a 2005 CBS miniseries about the pontiff. He also gained new fans for his supporting role in the hit crime drama Ray Donovan which ran for seven seasons on Showtime beginning in 2013.

While associated with the Hollywood counterculture in his early years, he has, in more current times, been associated with political conservatism. In the upcoming biopic Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid and opening in theaters on August 30th, he portrays a member of the KGB who observes America’s 40th president from a Soviet perspective.

JWK: What drew you to this film?

Jon Voight: Several things. One is certainly that I admired his presidency, what he accomplished and the grace with which he performed his presidential duties – his humor and all of that. I thought it would be wonderful to revisit this personality. He was one of our great presidents, no doubt about that. So, they had a role in it that I could play. Dennis Quaid, who I didn’t know very well, asked me personally to come along with this. I was moved by that gesture and I said “Okay, let me see if I can do it.” It’s a part where I have to play several several years older than myself and then 35 years younger than myself.

JWK: You play a character named Viktor Petrovich, a KGB agent. Can you tell me about him?

JV: Yes. He’s a KGB agent who was chosen to follow Reagan. There were people put onto Reagan at an early time because they saw some potential for him to grow into somewhat of a difficulty for the Soviet Union because he had expressed his thoughts about confronting the Soviet Union at a very early stage in his career. Then, as he grew, he became president of the actors union and then he became governor of California. In each of these positions he indicated a lot of talent and always spoke about the dangers of the Soviet Union. So, they saw him coming. Victor Petrovich is a fictitious fellow but there were people like Viktor who were put on to report on the continuing presence of Ronald Reagan on the political scene in America.

JWK: The story is told through your characters point of view, correct?

JV: Yes, in some way. It’s very interesting the way it’s done and, I think, in a very good way because he’s interpreting the events with some kind of understanding from the Russian point of view – so you see what they thought of Ronald Reagan. Viktor, himself, is a person who changes over the course of the picture and…his life. So, when we see him, he’s actually a changed man. He’s no longer a spy and he’s no longer of that same thought too.

JWK: Did you ever meet Reagan yourself?

JV: No, I never did. I wish I had.

JWK: I know you’re also a supporter of former President Trump. How would you compare the two of them?

JV: I think they’re both individual fellas but if I had to say where they’re similar I’d say both of them believe in our country. Both of them are very positive people who believe that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. They love the American people and they are in service of them. Both of them would give anything help America in its time of trouble.

JWK: Early in your career you were seen as being on the left side of the political spectrum. You are at least perceived to have moved to the conservative side but you’ve maintained a very strong career. How has your politics affected your relationships in Hollywood?

JV: It’s an interesting time for Hollywood. Listen, you know when I was doing research on this character I came across some pieces of information about the intentions of the Soviet Union and how they intended to overtake the United States – to destroy the United States. Their plans were to do it from within. It was a very elaborate plan and very clear. They were very good at propaganda – and propaganda works. Some of the things we’re seeing right now in our universities is because of that initial plan of the KGB. So, anyway, I think I was educated to many things in the process of making this film.
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Note: I don’t know if this is the education Jon Voight is referring to but this 1984 interview with former KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov seems to fit what he’s talking about – and current events. It’s at least worth being educated about.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.