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Jon Voight is Secretary Defense John Keller Jon Voight was not familiar with Transformers toys, but knows that the toys and cartoon have been a favorite of kids for years and believes that this movie will only solidify the robots as a successful franchise for years to come. And even though he has a passel of granddaughters and only two grandsons, he thinks that girls will find the robots equally engaging. When Voight first reads a script, he looks to make sure that the story works. “Does it have a cohesive beginning, a middle, an end?” he asks, “And where is the fun?  Is there excitement whether it's a serious piece or whether it's a fantasy? That's the real question. “After I read the script, I told Michael, `This is gonna work,'” he says. “I also thought my part wasn't too fleshed out, but then I realized why he wanted me to play it, to bring something of my own to the role. With Michael, every script is a work in progress.” No matter how big or small the part, Voight always wants to contribute to any scene he is in. “Some people who've been around as long as I have won't take roles if the piece doesn't revolve around them,” he explains. “But I've done a lot of supporting roles and I know what it is to be the lead guy and want to have those supporting actors give you something to work with, so I expect that from myself. When they turn the camera on me, I want to be ready to contribute and I want to be there for the other actors.” Voight was happy to see the filmmakers made the effort to keep military personnel available at all times when he and anyone playing military roles were on set. “It gives you a sense of what's authentic,” he says noting the military representatives from the Air Force, Army and Navy, one of whom was always on set, along with Phil Strub, overseer of entertainment media for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon, who visited from time to time. “I'm a veteran actor,” he says, “if you hang around long enough, you become one of those guys. I always try to be supportive of other actors because I know what they're going through in most situations, and I'll take advice from anybody.  I'm not just the elder statesman. But I often feel like my role is that of the beleaguered patriarch, so there's a little sense of that on the set.” Voight's fatherly manner toward the cast and crew, in combination with his own distinguished bearing, so impressed the real life soldiers working on set that fiction blurred with reality. “Some of the soldiers who worked in the Pentagon scenes would come up to my table at lunch,” the actor says. “I'd invite them to sit and talk and they approached me as if I were the actual Secretary of Defense. They respect the job so much they just naturally treated me with the same reverence.” Voight would frequently huddle with his cast mates before being called to the set to go over scenes and discuss ideas. The group developed their own shorthand and some of the younger actors would consult Voight on their own. “I have a lot of questions,” says Voight. “I always do. And I like coming up with ideas.  I'm kind of like Michael in that way. I like helping the director because he's carrying a heavy load, so I'll give people some cards to play with. I like being collaborative.” You could tell we were a happy family,” Voight says of the cast. “We all liked each other, which made for a fun set.” He developed a special rapport with some of the younger cast members, too. “Jon is the epitome of professionalism and class,” says Anthony Anderson. “He gives 100 percent every time. I see why he remains relevant in today's entertainment industry and has been so sought after for three or four decades.” An unlikely pair, mega-watt superstar rapper Gibson and gentleman Academy Award winner Voight connected on a very personal level.  “Jon Voight is my pops,” Gibson says. "He is such a mentor and father figure to me. When he hugs me, I feel like I am being hugged by my grand-pops because he has such a warm, loving spirit and he's such a humble guy. When I would do a scene with him, he'd look at me and give me this blink and a little nod - it made me feel like I did a good job.” Next Page: Anthony Anderson as Glenn Whitmann