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CNN Live Today

Interview with Jon Voight

Aired December 12, 2002 - 10:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You see what you saw there was actor Jon Voight attacking the new role. He's going to be in a new TNT original movie. The title of it is "Second String," and Voight delivers a first-rate performance. Believe me, I saw it last night.
And he's here with us in our studios this morning to talk about the movie and what else we can expect to see.

Good to see you in the flesh.

JON VOIGHT, ACTOR: Very nice to see you in the flesh.

HARRIS: Not too bad a job you did as a coach, at least in my view.

VOIGHT: Well, we won.

HARRIS: Which why a buddy of mine who was watching the film last night who said, you know this has to be science fiction, the Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl.

VOIGHT: But you did a pretty good job as a head coach, I have got to say this much. You seem to be a really great guy in the few minutes that I've had with you. But in this movie, you are a real bastard, you know that?

VOIGHT: Well, I was one of those hard-headed guys, you know? I can't see too far, except my own game plan, that kind of thing.

HARRIS: To clue folks in here, you play the coach of the Buffalo Bills, and you end up having a very contentious relationship with the guy who is your quarterback who bring in who is obviously the second- string here, and he takes you guys all the way to the top. I understand that Bill Bellows (ph) who played the quarterback -- and quite well, I have to give him credit if he is watching this morning -- he had a coach to work with him of how to act like and look like a football player.

Did you have a coach with you to help you act and look like a coach?

VOIGHT: No, I am a natural coach. But a lot of guys on the team are very good players, like Richard T. Jones was a very talented player, Charles Malik Whitfield (ph). I've got to get my guys out of there. But basically everybody was pretty handy, and they took a lot of hits and they did a good job.

HARRIS: One other guy, number seven, Doug Flutie was in this movie.

VOIGHT: Yes, Doug.

HARRIS: Quite often, I should say. And he didn't do too bad a job.

As a matter of fact, we are not talk about him; let's talk some more about Bill Bellows (ph) and you in this relationship. We've got a piece of tape that we want to listen to here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOIGHT: Hey. Whoa, stop. Who in the hell do you think you are?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Just trying to put points on the board, coach.

VOIGHT: You do one more thing, if you do anything other than what I tell to you do, I'll sit your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) down and I'll play a lineman at quarterback, I swear to God.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We're getting our (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kicked with this gameplan.

VOIGHT: That's it, you are out.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Fine! Fine! But admit it, the only thing you know about offense is how to stop it. You didn't how to use me in Philly -- you don't know how to use me now.

VOIGHT: Well, you weren't any good Philly, and you certainly not good for now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, maybe if for once you let me play the game the way I knew how to play it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Did you like the film? Are you into football at all. Are you a fan?

VOIGHT: I am. I am. It's almost a weakness. On the weekends, I have a lot to do. I kind of save up to do a lot on the weekends, and I know if I walk by that television set, I have to turn it on and maybe keep me there is an hour or two.

HARRIS: No kidding.

VOIGHT: Because I can't turn it off once I get involved in the games, you know.

HARRIS: The first sports film that you have done.

VOIGHT: No, I've done a couple. One was "The Champ," as you may remember and "Varsity Blues," I played a coach, so that's probably why I felt more comfortable. I have done all my research for one picture. I had a little extra to share with this one.

HARRIS: You bring up "The Champ." You played a boxer in that one.

VOIGHT: Yes.

HARRIS: And you played a football coach here. The last one you played Howard Cosell, who commented on both of those.

VOIGHT: You are a little bit good. You have a little bit of Howard Cosell when you just said that. It's hard not to.

HARRIS: What is next, then.

VOIGHT: Actually I have a movie called "Holes" coming up, in which I play a very strange character, another transformation.

Well, he plays a guard in kind of a work camp for young men, and he's a villainous type, and he's very funny, too. So it's an unusual character.

HARRIS: Now, you had a very unusual mix of people on the set with you on this second string. You had some legitimate pro football players, like Doug Flutie, and you had some other guys who obviously had some football in their past.

Do you ever when you walk, a consummate actor like yourself walk on the set, do you ever have someone come up and try to show you up?

VOIGHT: When you are on the set, as you can imagine, if we were doing a film together, you can imagine that everybody's rooting for each other and we're all trying to work together, and we wind up having relationships to work that way.

HARRIS: I am sorry to cut you off, because we have to move on.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 12, 2002 - 10:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You see what you saw there was actor Jon Voight attacking the new role. He's going to be in a new TNT original movie. The title of it is "Second String," and Voight delivers a first-rate performance. Believe me, I saw it last night.
And he's here with us in our studios this morning to talk about the movie and what else we can expect to see.

Good to see you in the flesh.

JON VOIGHT, ACTOR: Very nice to see you in the flesh.

HARRIS: Not too bad a job you did as a coach, at least in my view.

VOIGHT: Well, we won.

HARRIS: Which why a buddy of mine who was watching the film last night who said, you know this has to be science fiction, the Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl.

VOIGHT: But you did a pretty good job as a head coach, I have got to say this much. You seem to be a really great guy in the few minutes that I've had with you. But in this movie, you are a real bastard, you know that?

VOIGHT: Well, I was one of those hard-headed guys, you know? I can't see too far, except my own game plan, that kind of thing.

HARRIS: To clue folks in here, you play the coach of the Buffalo Bills, and you end up having a very contentious relationship with the guy who is your quarterback who bring in who is obviously the second- string here, and he takes you guys all the way to the top. I understand that Bill Bellows (ph) who played the quarterback -- and quite well, I have to give him credit if he is watching this morning -- he had a coach to work with him of how to act like and look like a football player.

Did you have a coach with you to help you act and look like a coach?

VOIGHT: No, I am a natural coach. But a lot of guys on the team are very good players, like Richard T. Jones was a very talented player, Charles Malik Whitfield (ph). I've got to get my guys out of there. But basically everybody was pretty handy, and they took a lot of hits and they did a good job.

HARRIS: One other guy, number seven, Doug Flutie was in this movie.

VOIGHT: Yes, Doug.

HARRIS: Quite often, I should say. And he didn't do too bad a job.

As a matter of fact, we are not talk about him; let's talk some more about Bill Bellows (ph) and you in this relationship. We've got a piece of tape that we want to listen to here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOIGHT: Hey. Whoa, stop. Who in the hell do you think you are?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Just trying to put points on the board, coach.

VOIGHT: You do one more thing, if you do anything other than what I tell to you do, I'll sit your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) down and I'll play a lineman at quarterback, I swear to God.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We're getting our (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kicked with this gameplan.

VOIGHT: That's it, you are out.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Fine! Fine! But admit it, the only thing you know about offense is how to stop it. You didn't how to use me in Philly -- you don't know how to use me now.

VOIGHT: Well, you weren't any good Philly, and you certainly not good for now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, maybe if for once you let me play the game the way I knew how to play it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Did you like the film? Are you into football at all. Are you a fan?

VOIGHT: I am. I am. It's almost a weakness. On the weekends, I have a lot to do. I kind of save up to do a lot on the weekends, and I know if I walk by that television set, I have to turn it on and maybe keep me there is an hour or two.

HARRIS: No kidding.

VOIGHT: Because I can't turn it off once I get involved in the games, you know.

HARRIS: The first sports film that you have done.

VOIGHT: No, I've done a couple. One was "The Champ," as you may remember and "Varsity Blues," I played a coach, so that's probably why I felt more comfortable. I have done all my research for one picture. I had a little extra to share with this one.

HARRIS: You bring up "The Champ." You played a boxer in that one.

VOIGHT: Yes.

HARRIS: And you played a football coach here. The last one you played Howard Cosell, who commented on both of those.

VOIGHT: You are a little bit good. You have a little bit of Howard Cosell when you just said that. It's hard not to.

HARRIS: What is next, then.

VOIGHT: Actually I have a movie called "Holes" coming up, in which I play a very strange character, another transformation.

Well, he plays a guard in kind of a work camp for young men, and he's a villainous type, and he's very funny, too. So it's an unusual character.

HARRIS: Now, you had a very unusual mix of people on the set with you on this second string. You had some legitimate pro football players, like Doug Flutie, and you had some other guys who obviously had some football in their past.

Do you ever when you walk, a consummate actor like yourself walk on the set, do you ever have someone come up and try to show you up?

VOIGHT: When you are on the set, as you can imagine, if we were doing a film together, you can imagine that everybody's rooting for each other and we're all trying to work together, and we wind up having relationships to work that way.

HARRIS: I am sorry to cut you off, because we have to move on.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com