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 2001, he appeared in the television mini-series "" along with Vanessa Redgrave, Matthew Modine, Richard Attenborough, and Mia Sara. In the CBS miniseries "Pope John Paul II", released in December 2005, Voight, who was raised a Catholic, portrayed the pontiff from the time of his election until his death, garnering an Emmy nomination for the role. In 2003, he played the role of Marion Sevillo/Mr. Sir in "Holes". In 2004, Voight joined Nicolas Cage, in "National Treasure" as Patrick Gates, the father of Cage's character. In 2005, he played Pope John Paul II in the second part of CBS' miniseries,