His high-profile daughter and her maybe-beau may be grabbing all of the attention lately, but Jon Voight shows he’s more than just Angelina Jolie’s papa—he’s the Holy Father of the Catholic Church himself in CBS’s biographical TV movie Pope John Paul II, playing the pontiff from his 60s on. The Oscar-winning actor discussed playing one of the most popular religious figures of the last century—and updated Hollywood.com on his still-estranged relationship with Jolie.
Hollywood.com: You’re playing the Pope, and you certainly played other real people—from FDR in Pearl Harbor to Howard Cosell in Ali–but as a religious icon, was this one more daunting?
Jon Voight: “You know, I’m a spiritual guy myself, and it was almost fun to play a spiritual person. And he’s very specific. He had very specific characteristics, this Pope, characteristics that we all felt something from. I think across religious lines we all knew this guy was one of the guys who was out there doing good and trying to be a proper moral voice and stand against trends that are going to be hurtful, to the young especially. But no, it wasn’t daunting to me. I have my own spiritual understandings but they weren’t far different. Of course, he’s got the surroundings of the Church and all of that, but he was a spiritual energy within every setting he was placed in. He was a very interesting man. When we look back we can see that what he accomplished, the way he used his position as Pope and his position as the leader of the Catholic Church, he used it against some of the evils—certainly Communism—that were attending during his lifetime, and he was a tremendous force. I mean, when he went to Krakow, he engineered it, and he knew it was going to be revolutionary. He knew what it was going to incite, because the people of Krakow, the people of Poland, were Catholic and they were living within a system that didn’t allow them to recognize God. And so he goes in there, he knows what he’s doing and he’s doing his work as a pastor, I suppose, and every word was powerful. It gave rise to Solidarity, and eventually Communism was overcome—a lot because of his personal energy, and because of his friendship with Reagan, in that regard. And of course so many other people who sacrificed and worked hard to get it accomplished. But he was one of the prime movers. He was very effective.”
HW:What did you find surprising about his personal side, the more human side that we didn’t always see?
JV: “He was a sportsman. He was a tremendously active and gregarious guy, and he was a unique fellow in the way that everybody said ‘Oh, you can’t do this,’ and he’d say ‘Oh no, we’re doing it,’ and everybody had to follow him because he was the Pope. [laughs] So he was fun. Fun within that strict discipline, and of course a holy fellow. He was a good guy and within that he was very playful and daring. An interesting guy…What I was doing with it was really trying to pay tribute to this guy and trying to interpret this time of life and this energy and that was serious. And that took a lot of meditation as well.”
HW:Did you take home any mementos of the role?
JV: “I haven’t gotten them yet, but I think I’ve got my whole outfit. I’m going to keep it. Maybe somebody would be interested in it in the future. It’s nice to have it, because his ring, especially—each Pope has his own ring, and after it’s made and then they pass on, the ring is broken and put into the coffin with them and disappears with them. So I still have the ring!”
HW:We hear the current Pope might be attending a screening?
JV: “There may be a screening for the new Pope, yeah.”
[NOTE: Voight and Cary Elwes, who plays the young John Paul II, viewed the telepic with Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City on Nov. 17]
HW:And would you be there?
JV: “Well, they want me to be there, so I’ll try. I’m interested myself in seeing what we did. We worked so hard on it, and you don’t know how it’s finally going to finish up. I have great confidence in the director. I know the cinematography was great and the actors were terrific, I liked the script very much and we worked hard, and I think it’s going to be a moving experience for everybody, and it’s going to touch people’s hearts.”
HW: Your daughter Angelina recently became a mom again. She’s certainly doing what she can to make a difference in people’s lives.
JV: “It’s awfully nice, what she’s doing, isn’t it? She has great compassion and a lot of love for people and a lot of love for kids, and you can see the smiles on her kids’ faces, and see the way she is with them.”
HW: Is there still a chance that the two of you will reconcile one day?
JV: “I certainly hope so. There’s gotta be. Absolutely. I can’t give up on that one. I love her and I try to tell her that often. It’s up and down. It’s a dramatic relationship…I’m always thinking about her.”
