In his first series role in 40 years, Jon Voight has signed on for the upcoming seventh season of “24.”
On the Emmy-winning Fox drama, Voight will play Jack Bauer’s (Kiefer Sutherland) uber-nemesis who is pulling the strings behind next season’s terrorist threat.
The character will be introduced during “24’s” two-hour Season 7 prequel and will be featured heavily in the latter half of the season.
The prequel, now shooting on location in South Africa, is slated to air Nov. 23, with Season 7 of the Imagine TV/20th TV-produced series kicking off in January.
The tapping of Voight marks the first A-list villain casting on “24″ since Season 1 when Dennis Hopper appeared in the final episodes as Serbian nationalist Victor Drazen.
Voight did several TV guest spots early in his career — including a three-episode stint on “Gunsmoke” between 1966-69 — until his movie career exploded with “Midnight Cowboy” in 1969.
A four-time Academy Award nominee, Voight won the best actor Oscar for 1978’s “Coming Home.” He recently reprised his role as Nicolas Cage’s father in “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.”
Voight is repped by CAA and manager Steven Paul.
