HOLLYWOOD -- There were times last year when Jon Voight looked in the mirror that he wasn't certain who exactly was looking back.

Voight made incredible physical transformations to play President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Pearl Harbor and sports journalist Howard Cosell in Ali.

"For each of those characters I spent as much as seven hours a day in makeup. My makeup people and I were usually the first ones on set the days I worked," says Voight.

"It was like magic for me too when I watched. I knew I was under that makeup but I really couldn't recognize myself."

Voight had an advantage playing Cosell.

"I knew both Muhammad Ali and Cosell. I knew Howard better than most people so I was determined to treat that character with great reverence.

"His slogan 'Tell it like it is' wasn't just some catchphrase. It was how he lived his life."

Voight says he and Will Smith improvised most of their scenes in Ali.

"We would do the lines as written then just keep talking. (Director) Michael Mann kept the cameras rolling and used a lot of our improvs."

Voight feels Smith was the ideal choice to play Ali because "both men are entertainers at heart and both are great humanitarians. That's why Will was able to capture Ali's true spirit."


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