Jon Voight accepted the lowest union wage possible to play Joe Buck in “Midnight Cowboy” (1969), a move that surprised many in Hollywood. At the time, the role was highly sought after, but the studio had other actors in mind, including Michael Sarrazin and even Warren Beatty. Voight, who had been scraping by as a stage actor in New York, knew he had to do something bold. So when he learned that director John Schlesinger was casting, he went directly to him and offered to take the role for scale.

Voight’s decision was grounded in conviction rather than desperation. He had read the script and understood the emotional power of Joe Buck’s loneliness and vulnerability. He sensed that this was the kind of role that did not just offer visibility, it could change his life. During a later interview, Voight recalled, “I told John Schlesinger, ‘I’ll do it for nothing. I just want the chance to play this man. I know who he is. I’ve met guys like him back in Yonkers, in Times Square, in diners at 3 a.m. Let me show you.’”

His performance would ultimately validate every word of that pitch. But at the time, Voight’s willingness to forgo a better paycheck raised eyebrows among friends and agents. Playing Joe Buck meant fully inhabiting a Texan drifter who travels to New York City dreaming of becoming a male hustler, only to face grim realities. It was a risky part for any actor, more so for one with little screen presence.

Voight had only a few credits under his belt, mostly small TV roles and stage performances. When casting began, Schlesinger was reportedly more drawn to established names, but none of them captured the naive optimism and aching need that Joe Buck required. After Voight’s relentless lobbying and his agreement to accept scale, Schlesinger agreed to test him on camera.

Voight later described that screen test as one of the most intense moments of his career. He said, “I remember the silence when it ended. Nobody said a word. I thought I had blown it. Then John just nodded and said, ‘You’ve got something. Let’s see where this goes.’”

Shooting “Midnight Cowboy” was grueling. The film was shot in actual New York City locations, including run-down apartments and the crowded streets of Times Square. Voight’s scenes with Dustin Hoffman, who played the ailing con man Ratso Rizzo, were emotionally charged and often improvised to reflect the harsh, shifting dynamic between their characters. Voight revealed in later interviews that there were days he walked back to his hotel in costume, trying to stay in character, still processing the rawness of the scenes they had just filmed.

“I was living on that edge emotionally,” Voight said. “Joe Buck was me, broke, ambitious, wounded. The hunger in him was real, and so was mine. We were both reaching for something bigger than ourselves.”

The gamble proved to be historic. “Midnight Cowboy” became the first and only X-rated film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Voight earned his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor, launching him into the center of Hollywood attention. Years later, he admitted that agreeing to scale wages had been “one of the best decisions of my life, not because it got me the part, but because it reminded me why I act, to serve something true.”

On the set of a film where every choice felt like a leap into the unknown, Voight’s willingness to bet on belief rather than money became a defining moment, both for him and for American cinema.