Burt Reynolds Took A Clear Side In Angelina Jolie's Feud With Her Dad Jon Voight
Angelina Jolie had a very public falling out with her father Jon Voight as she was propelling to stardom. During a 2002 interview, Voight was stunningly candid when speaking about their fraught relationship. "I've been trying to reach my daughter and get her help, and I have failed and I'm sorry," he told Access Hollywood, via Entertainment Weekly. The "Deliverance" star said that his daughter had her own "serious mental problems," that he had been aware of since she was a child. Voight also claimed in the interview that Jolie would not allow him to meet her recently adopted child Maddox, who was one year old at the time.
The "Tomb Raider" star fired back at her father after his comments about her mental health. "After all these years, I have determined that it is not healthy for me to be around my father, especially now that I am responsible for my own child," she said in a statement, per EW. Shortly after, Jolie dropped "Voight" as her last name and legally changed it to her stage name. Reportedly, part of their issues stemmed from Voight's treatment of Jolie's mother during their marriage.
In 2008, Voight praised his daughter on her new children in an interview. "If I were called today, I'd be there," he told The Insider, via Just Jared. That same year, a report claimed the "Runaway Train" actor was desperate to reconcile with Jolie. At this point, his good friend, Burt Reynolds, decided to weigh in on the rift.
Burt Reynolds tried to warn Jon Voight
Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds had a longstanding friendship that dated back to making "Deliverance" together in 1972. During a 2015 interview, Reynolds was asked about his friend's feud with Angelina Jolie, and "The Longest Yard" star did not hold back. "Jon Voight is so special, and he doesn't deserve the kind of treatment that his daughter's given to him," he said while appearing on "Loose Women." In fact, Reynolds recalled trying to warn Voight about his daughter from a young age. "I remember when she was 10 years old... and I went over to Jon and said, 'You're in big trouble, she is going to be wild.'" Reynolds then explained how "lucky" he was to have a well-behaved son himself.
The comments came several years after Voight and Jolie famously made amends in 2011. "It gave me back my daughter and my family. Being reunited with my Angie is very precious to me," the "Anaconda" actor told the Daily Mail at the time. According to reports, Jolie wanted her kids to have a relationship with their grandfather.
Following his interview on Voight and Jolie's fractured relationship, Reynolds changed his tune about the "Girl, Interrupted" actor. He half-jokingly endorsed both Voight and his daughter as presidential candidates. "I like her a lot. She's not afraid to tackle anything, and she's a very, very sweet girl," Reynolds told the Daily Beast in 2016. Over the years, Voight and Jolie managed to maintain the truce and build a relationship.
What Angelina Jolie and Jon Voight said after burying the hatchet
Not only had Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds looked out for each other since becoming friends in the '70s, but they remained close until the "Smokey and the Bandit" star's death. "What can I say about this passionate fellow, my friend Burt Reynolds. Burt was — he was a dynamo," Voight said in 2018 while eulogizing his "Deliverance" co-star on Fox News. He added that Reynolds was "a true artist in every way."
Since reuniting after being estranged for nearly a decade apart, Voight and Angelina Jolie remained part of each other's lives. The "Maleficent" star spoke about how her father interacted with her children. "He's been very good at understanding they needed their grandfather at this time," she told Vanity Fair in 2017, via People. Later, Voight heaped praise on his daughter's parenting abilities. "She loves her kids, she's always involved with them, always concerned for them," he told People.
Voight was not only impressed with how his daughter handled herself at home but how talented she was on set as a director. "Yeah, she's really remarkable," he told CBS News in 2021 when asked about the "Unbroken" director's skillset. Voight was even open to the potential of possibly working under his daughter in the future. "She would be tough! But yes, of course, I would love to work with her," he said.