Originally Published: January 19, 2008

11- What was it like to portray F.D.R.?
It’s an interesting thing that I did FDR. Because when I’m talking about Giuliani now, I think about FDR. And I don’t want to make this too much of a big deal, but there are men for the hour. We need someone strong now and that’s what Giuliani is. He’s a man of destiny. He’s someone to guide us through these next several years and keep our future intact with his courage and his clear-thinking and his strength. As for doing FDR, my brother gave me a book called “No Ordinary Time,” which is definitely a reflection of this time. It’s a great book. And I read it and I got into Roosevelt. I read everything I could about Roosevelt. And at one point my son said to me, ‘Dad, they’re doing Pearl Harbor. They have to have Roosevelt in it. You’re crazy about Roosevelt. Why don’t you call them?’ So on that basis, I called [but] at that time, Gene Hackman was set to do it. But I kept pestering them because I felt I could do it. And Gene pulled out because he had other issues. And at one point, I went to Michael Bay at one of the after-parties for the Oscars. I grabbed him and I looked in his eyes and I said, “I can be Franklin Roosevelt.” That was the most brazen thing anyone could have said. I knew that I would do the prosthetics, I would do the make-up, and I could do the voice. With the force of my confidence, they gave me the shot. And then they just let me do it. And I loved the script. I’m very proud of that performance.

12- Fred Thompson is a fellow thespian. Do you know him at all?
I’ve only met him recently. I like Fred, he’s a great guy. I’m friends with Hillary Clinton, you know. I’m friendly with all of these guys. Certainly with John McCain, who is competing for Florida. He’s an American hero. He’s one of our great heroes. So there’s a lot of great people in politics these days. It’s not like we have a paucity of political strength. But Rudy is head-and-shoulders above them. This is what I feel.

13- Do you feel at all surprised by the success thus far of Mitt Romney?
He’s worked hard. He’s worked very hard.

14- How do you assess Mr. Giuliani’s win-Florida-at-all-costs strategy?
In a certain sense, Rudy’s plan was based on necessity and imagination. He knew he had to make some sort of decision with the monies that he had. He couldn’t spread himself too thin. He had to choose what his tactic was going to be to get the nomination. So far, I have to say, it’s worked. Florida is very important. We have to get the vote out here. And I feel that if Florida can come around, the rest of the states will fall in line. I think Rudy has to step up here. So this is very important.

15- You mentioned a moment ago that Hillary is a friend?
I look at them [Barack and Hillary] and I say I would be for Hillary because I think she has experience. She’s seen what it takes, and I think she would be strong enough in certain areas.

16- What are your thoughts about Senator Obama?
I don’t think Barack Obama has the understanding and he hasn’t proved himself in any way yet. He hasn’t proved himself in his activities and he hasn’t distinguished himself. What he has done is given us an effective presentation of an eloquent speaker and a charming personality. But beyond that, he hasn’t proven anything in his record. Hillary has done much more and I think she would be much more responsible.

17- As for Senator Obama, it comes down to experience or lack thereof?
When we are talking about the presidency of the United States, this is the biggest job in the world. And the reason I’m for Rudy is because he took the second-biggest job in the world and handled it beautifully. Nobody just becomes president and is able to handle that job. You better know this guy can handle everything. That’s why there is no question Rudy is way out in front, head-and-shoulders above if you look at qualifications. He knows what to do. He’s also an inspiring leader. We in New York believed in him. That’s the reason he was able to accomplish so much. He was a very special person, the man of destiny for that time. And it seems like he is the man of destiny for this time. It seems his work is not over.

18- What are your favorite and least favorite Jon Voight movies?
That’s a tough one. I made so many great ones. But Midnight Cowboy is always going to be a great one so we’ll leave it at that, Midnight Cowboy. I don’t have a least-favorite one. I’ve really liked everything I’ve done.

19- Where is your Oscar statuette on display?
I have it over the mantel piece. I gave it to my mother initially and she was decorating for Christmas and she put it in a fish bowl with marbles and a light underneath, and when people came into the house for Christmas, she’d say, ‘Do you want to hold the Oscar? There it is. Pick it up.’ They’d pick it up and she’d say, ‘Okay now put it down. And come in to the house.’ It was in the entrance way, and she left it there for a while until she passed.

20- Was playing Howard Cosell your biggest on-screen challenge?
It was certainly challenging in one specific way in that Howard Cosell is one of the most popular Americans we’ve had in the last 50 years and everyone knows him and everyone can imitate him. Everybody. So here, I’m gonna do it? Oh my god. But I knew I had a couple of things going for me that nobody knew. Number one was that I’m very good at makeup. Almost like a Lon Chaney guy, I know how to change myself. And number two, I knew I was physically as tall as Howard because he was a big guy. And then I knew I could do an impersonation in a certain way. You never know you’re going to fulfill it to someone else’s expectations until you just do it.

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