Runaway Actor

Between 1985 and 1995, Jon Voight made only three feature films, concentrating primarily on cable movies and TV miniseries.

But now the 58-year-old Oscar winner is making up for lost screen time. Since playing the treasonous agent Jim Phelps in the blockbuster “Mission: Impossible,” Voight has been working nonstop in features. He received good notices for Michael Mann’s “Heat” and John Singleton’s “Rosewood,” and stole the camp hit “Anaconda,” in which he was devoured and regurgitated by a mammoth snake. The actor was almost unrecognizable in his comedic turn as a wily blind Native American in Oliver Stone’s “U-Turn.”

Voight’s latest film is “John Grisham’s The Rainmaker,” which opens Friday. Francis Ford Coppola directed and adapted Grisham’s bestseller about a young, naive attorney, Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon), who takes on a giant health insurance company over an unpaid insurance claim. Voight plays the powerful, slick legal titan Leo F. Drummond, who is Rudy’s imposing adversary in the case.

The actor, who made his Broadway debut as Rolfe in “The Sound of Music,” came to fame in John Schlesinger’s 1969 Oscar-winning “Midnight Cowboy,” for which he received his first Academy Award nomination as hustler Joe Buck. He starred in John Boorman’s acclaimed 1972 film “Deliverance” and won the best actor Oscar for his indelible performance as a paraplegic Vietnam vet in 1978’s “Coming Home.” Voight received a third best actor nomination for his work as a hardened criminal in 1985’s “Runaway Train.”

Relaxing in his new Century City office, Voight recently chatted about his return to features, working with Coppola on “The Rainmaker” and what’s next in store for him.

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Question: Why did you stay away from features for nearly a decade?

Answer: I did a lot of [cable] films during that time that were interesting to me--important causes that were the focus of many of those films, like “The Last of His Tribe.” I did a lot of films that were focused on serious areas. Then I got my toe in the water of directing. I did “The Tin Soldier,” which was nominated for a CableAce and won the Berlin Film Festival’s best children’s film award.

I had many other things happening. For about five years, my mother was quite ill. She passed on in December 1995. Those years she was ill, my brothers and I spent a lot of time focusing on her. It was a moment of great bonding for all of us as a family. I tried everything I could do to work close to her.

But I also wanted to look for things she could come and do with me that would be fun. I think it was that energy that prompted me to get to working in a big picture. I remember very clearly I wanted to take her on something that was exciting for her. I got a call from Tom Cruise’s company [about doing “Mission: Impossible”] and I met with [director] Brian DePalma. I was able to tell my mother we were going to go to Prague and London. She was so excited about the adventure. She had a wonderful time.

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Q: Your screen persona is totally different now. You’ve shed your sensitive, nice guy image of “Coming Home” and are now usually cast as the villain.

A: Well, it was an interesting thing. I made a movie in 1985 or ’86 called “Runaway Train.” That was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. We were friends and he wanted to work with me, so he sent me this piece, and it was such a stretch for me. He pushed until I accepted. Then it was so successful as a character--people really loved that character. When I returned to film, there were people who wanted to see that side of me.

I’m getting a lot of calls [to do movies] and maybe it was because of my mom. My mother wanted me to work a lot all the time and I was pretty fussy in many ways during my career. I have been grateful for the offers that are coming my way.

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Q: You also appear to be having more fun with your performances, especially in “Anaconda,” “U-Turn” and now as Leo F. Drummond in “The Rainmaker.”

A: I think people are also discovering things about me. I have a very playful side and when I’m working well, it’s very much in evidence. If I’m working well on a piece, I’m in good spirits. People are starting to see that side of me.

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Q: You’ve worked with terrific directors during your career like John Schlesinger, Hal Ashby and Konchalovsky. What was the experience like working with Coppola on “The Rainmaker”?

A: We have reams of information about Francis, so he carries a lot of energy when you first meet this man. You are quite wrapped up in the myth of it. I was deeply delighted to get this call that Francis wanted me for this movie, and that he felt it was time to work with me was wonderful.

For me, [the experience] was very good. I love to improvise and play theater games that get a group of individual actors to become an ensemble. Francis set up this series of theater games, which you almost never get to do anymore, especially in big, big films. I always like to rehearse a lot.

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Q: Your daughter, Angelina Jolie, is now making a name for herself in films and television movies. Would you ever work together?

A: She’s come along very quickly and I’d very much like to work with her. We’re keeping our eye open for that possibility.

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Q: You’ve recently completed two more films.

A: I have a piece called “The Fixer” [that] I also co-produced for Showtime. It’s a story about present-day politics in Chicago. Then I did a piece called “The General,” with my good old friend John Boorman. It was an all-Irish cast except for myself. I played an Irish policeman in Dublin. I’m very excited about that movie as well.

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Q: I bet your mother would be thrilled with all your good fortune.

A: She’s delighted, I think, I’m working. I am very grateful being in the business. When people ask me about my daughter and they say, “How do you feel about her being in the business?,” I say, “I’m very grateful she has the energy and has found a home for that energy in this business.” The business has been very good to me.