The rumors are true: Clint Eastwood — who months ago starred in a Super Bowl Chrysler commercial that conservatives claimed was a thinly disguised Obama campaign ad — is the RNC’s “mystery guest,” and will give a gravelly voiced speechh in support of Mitt Romney tonight, the convention’s final night. It’s a big coup for Romney to have such a highly respected movie star on his side, and the entire Republican party is absolutely thrilled. But what about poor Jon Voight, who has been hitting the pavement for the Romney campaign in Tampa all week, and is suddenly neither the most prominent or important Oscar-winning actor at the convention?
“No, no!” Voight told me just now when I asked him if he felt upstaged by Clint Eastwood, or was jealous that he’d been given a speaking role. “It’s like my family is up there! It’s fantastic! It’s much more important that Clint Eastwood speaks than that I speak. I’ve been here for the week, I’ve been doing my — I do what I do.”
Surely he feels just a little bit overshadowed? (We really wanted Voight to confess his hurt feelings to us, however unlikely that was.)
“Absolutely not in the least,” Voight, whose favorite Eastwood movie is Gran Torino, insisted. “He’s somebody I admire greatly and I’m very proud to say he’s a friend of mine.”
Jon Voight: Just doing what he does.
