Deliverance to play Lewis Medlock. Jack Nicholson was considered for the role of Ed, while both Donald Sutherland and Charlton Heston turned down the role of Lewis. Other actors who were attached to the project included Robert Redford, Henry Fonda, George C. Scott and Warren Beatty. The film is infamous for cutting costs by not insuring the production and having the actors perform their own stunts (most notably, Jon Voight climbed the cliff himself). In one scene, the stunt coordinator decided that a scene showing a canoe with a dummy of Burt Reynolds in it looked phony; he said it looked
Jon Voight two. Jane Fonda won her second Best Actress award for her role, and Voight won for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 1979, Voight once again put on boxing gloves, starring in 1979's remake of the 1931 Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper vehicle, "The Champ," with Voight playing the part of an alcoholic ex-heavyweight and a young Ricky Schroder playing the role of his adoring son. The film was an international success, but less popular with American audiences. He next reteamed with director Ashby in 1982's "Lookin' to Get Out", in which he played Alex Kovac, a con man