He has spent nearly a decade bitterly and publicly estranged from his daughter, Angelina Jolie, but now Hollywood star Jon Voight has revealed they have reconciled after he was struck by an emotional epiphany.
The Oscar-winner has spoken for the first time of how he changed his attitude “in a moment”, and now lives for his family.
The 72-year-old fell out with Jolie in 2002 when he accused her of having “serious mental problems”, while Jolie, 37, had criticised him for having an affair behind her mother’s back.
Father and daughter had their first tentative meeting in Venice last year after Jolie’s partner, Brad Pitt, acted as a go-between. Now Voight says the feud is over and he feels very close to his grandchildren, three biological and three adopted.
Speaking from Los Angeles, he said his change of heart came in an instant. He said: “I suddenly saw things differently and everything shifted. That one moment changed my whole life. It gave me back my daughter and my family. Being reunited with my Angie is very precious to me. I adore my grandchildren, they are my great love. It makes me so emotional and grateful.
“When my daughter sees me with them she says she sees another energy in me which takes over. I’m always laughing and completely happy when I’m with them. It makes Angie so happy too, as you can imagine.” – Mail on Sunday