Charlton Heston
Biography
Charlton Heston (October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor of film, theater, and television. He is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes, and Ben-Hur, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Heston was also known for his political activism. In the 1950s and 1960s he was one of a handful of Hollywood actors to speak openly against racism and was an active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. Initially a moderate Democrat, he later supported conservative Republican policies and was president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003.
Gallery
Known For
Acting History
2025
Airports
2024Planet of the Apes: A Milestone of Science Fiction as Self (archive footage)
2023Charlton Heston: Radical to Right Wing as Self (archive footage)
2020Yul Brynner, the Magnificent as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019Todos los nombres de Sara as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019Hail Satan? as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019I Am Richard Pryor as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil" as (archive footage)
2017I Am Not Your Negro as Self
2017The Madding Crowd as Self (archive footage)
2016Bienvenido Mr. Heston as Self (archive footage)
2016The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille as Self
2015Spanish Western as Self (archive footage)
2014Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2014Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire as Self - Actor (archive footage)
2013Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia as Self (archive footage)
2013Talking Pictures as Self (archive footage)
2011Charlton Heston and Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey as Self (archive footage)
20102Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift as (archive footage)
2010Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff as Self – Interviewee
2008Greatest Heroes and Legends: The Story of Moses as Self - Host / Moses
2007AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition as Self (archive footage)
2006De Madrid a la Luna as Self (archive footage)
2005Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema as Self (archive footage)
2004Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade as Self (archive footage)
2004Remembering Reagan at His Ranch as Host
2003Christmas in Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2003The Making of The Ten Commandments as Self (archive footage)
2003My Father as Josef Mengele
2003Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Samson and Delilah as Self - Host
2003Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: The Garden of Eden as Self - Host
2003Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Jonah and the Whale as Self - Host
2003Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: David and Goliath as Self - Host
2003Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den as Self - Host
2003Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Joshua and the Battle of Jericho as Self - Host
2003Ben Hur as Ben Hur (voice)
2003Lasting Love
2002Edith Head: The Paramount Years as (archive footage)
2002The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich as Narrator (voice)
2002Bowling for Columbine as Self - NRA President
2002The Making of 'Tombstone' as Self
2001Last Party 2000 as Self
2001The Making of Midway as Self
2001Planet of the Apes as Zaius (uncredited)
2001Cats & Dogs as The Mastiff (voice)
2001The Gun Deadlock as Self
2001The Order as Professor Finley
2001Town & Country as Mr. Clayborne
2000The Weber Show as Charlton Heston
2000Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the Chinese Theatre Footprints as Self
1999Any Given Sunday as AFFA Football Commissioner
1999Camino de Santiago as Professor Marcelo Rinaldi
1999Yesterday's Tomorrows as Self
1999Television: The First Fifty Years as Self
1999Forever Hollywood as Self
1998Secrets of War: Shadows of The Reich as Self - Narrator (voice)
1998Private Screenings: Charlton Heston as Self
1998Gideon as Addison Sinclair
1998Sworn to Secrecy: Secrets of War as Self - Narrator (voice)
1998Behind the Planet of the Apes as Self - 'Taylor'
1998Alaska: Spirit of the Wild as Narrator (voice)
1998Armageddon as Narration (voice)
1998Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero as Self
1997Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Genesis as Self - Host
1997Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western as Self
1997Hercules as Narrator (voice)
1997Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line as Self
1997Charlton Heston Presents the Bible as Self - Narrator
1996Hamlet as Player King
1996Love in Hollywood as Self
1996Alaska as Perry
1996Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels as Self
1996Andersonville Diaries as Narrator
1996The Mysterious Origins of Man as Self - Host
1996The Lord Protector as Narrator (voice)
1995MADtv as Self
1995Texas as Narrator
1995Eco-Challenge
1995The Outer Limits as Chief Justice Haden Wainwright
1995Charlton Heston: For All Seasons as Self
1995In the Mouth of Madness as Jackson Harglow
1995The Avenging Angel as Brigham Young
1994Friends as Charlton Heston
1994True Lies as Spencer Trilby
1994Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects as Self
1994Space Ghost Coast to Coast as Self
1994A Century of Cinema as Self
1994The Legacy of Malthus as Self (Population Institute, 1993) (archive footage)
1994The Bible According to Hollywood as Self
1993Tombstone as Henry Hooker
1993Wayne's World 2 as Good Actor
1993The Mystery of the Sphinx as Narrator
1993Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
1993seaQuest DSV as Abalon
1993Charlton Heston Presents The Bible: The Story of Moses as Self - Host
1993Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Jesus of Nazareth as Self - Host
1992Noël as Narrator
1992Solar Crisis as Adm. "Skeet" Kelso
1992Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 as Captain Al Haynes
1992Symphony for the Spire
1991Noel's House Party as Star guest
1991The Crucifer of Blood as Sherlock Holmes
1991Pebble Mill as Self
1991Cults: Saying No Under Pressure as Narrator
1991Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents as Host and Narrator
1990Almost an Angel as God
1990A Night on Mount Edna as Self
1990The Little Kidnappers as James MacKenzie
1990With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film as Self
1990Treasure Island as Long John Silver
1989Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary as Self
1989Original Sin as Louis Mancini
1989Call from Space as Alien (voice)
1988A Man for All Seasons as Sir Thomas More
1988Korea: The Unknown War as General Douglas MacArthur (voice)
1987Proud Men as Charley MacLeod Sr.
1987The Dame Edna Experience as Self
1987Andrew Weyth, The Helga Pictures as Self - Host
1987Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood as Self
1987Eclipse of Reason as Narrator
1986The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal as Self
1986Directed by William Wyler as Self
1985The Colbys as Jason Colby
1984The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team
1984Nairobi Affair as Lee Cahill
1983Chiefs as Hugh Holmes
1982Barry Norman in Celebrity City as Self
1982Mother Lode as Silas McGee / Ian McGee
1982The Orson Welles Story as Self
1982Wogan as Self
1982Let Poland Be Poland as Self - Co-Host
1981This Is Your Life: 30th Anniversary Special as Self
1981Dynasty as Jason Colby
1980The Awakening as Matthew Corbeck
1980The Mountain Men as Bill Tyler
1978The Kennedy Center Honors as Self
1978Gray Lady Down as Captain Paul Blanchard
1977Energy: A National Issue as Narrator (voice)
1977The Prince and the Pauper as Henry VIII
1976Two-Minute Warning as Capt. Peter Holly
1976America at the Movies as Narrator
1976Midway as Capt. Matthew Garth
1976The Last Hard Men as Sam Burgade
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
1975Les Rendez-vous du dimanche as Self
1974Earthquake as Stewart Graff
1974The Four Musketeers as Cardinal Richelieu
1974Dinah! as Self
1974Airport 1975 as Alan Murdock
1974Spécial cinéma as Self
1973The Three Musketeers as Cardinal Richelieu
1973Soylent Green as Detective Robert Thorn
1973The American Film Institute Salute to ... as Self
1973A Look at the World of 'Soylent Green' as Self
1972The Call of the Wild as John Thornton
1972Skyjacked as Capt. Henry 'Hank' O'Hara
1972Antony and Cleopatra as Marc Antony
1972The Special London Bridge Special as Tennis Player
1971Film '72 as Self
1971Vietnam! Vietnam! as Narrator (voice)
1971The Omega Man as Robert Neville
1971V.I.P. Schaukel as Self
1971The Last Man Alive: The Omega Man as Self - Narrator
1970The Hawaiians as Whip Hoxworth
1970Julius Caesar as Marc Antony
1970Beneath the Planet of the Apes as Taylor
1970King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis as Self (archive footage)
1969Number One as Ron "Cat" Catlan
1968The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest
1968Planet of the Apes as George Taylor
1968Elizabeth the Queen as Lord Essex
1968Rowan & Martin at the Movies as Self
1967Counterpoint as Lionel Evans
1967Will Penny as Will Penny
1967While I Run This Race as Narrator
1966Khartoum as Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon
1966Planet of the Apes Test Reel as Thomas
1965The War Lord as Chrysagon
1965The Agony and the Ecstasy as Michelangelo
1965Uncertain Verification as (archive footage)
1965The Greatest Story Ever Told as John the Baptist
1965Major Dundee as Major Amos Charles Dundee
1965F.D.R. as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1963The Patriots as Thomas Jefferson
1963The Five Cities of June as Narrator
196355 Days at Peking as Maj. Matt Lewis
1963The Greatest All-Star Advertial of All Time as Self
1963Look at Life: The City's Built for Shooting as Self
1962Diamond Head as Richard 'King' Howland
1962The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
1962The Merv Griffin Show as Self
1962The Pigeon That Took Rome as Captain Paul MacDougall / Benny the Snatch / Narrator
1961The Mike Douglas Show as Self
1961El Cid as El Cid Rodrigo de Vivar
1961Kraft Mystery Theatre as Paul Malone (archive footage)
1959Ben-Hur as Judah Ben-Hur
1959The Wreck of the Mary Deare as John Sands
1958The Buccaneer as Gen. Andrew Jackson
1958The Big Country as Steve Leech
1958Touch of Evil as Ramon Miguel Vargas
1958Shirley Temple's Storybook as Beast
1958Fun in the Big Country as Self
1956Three Violent People as Colt Saunders
1956The Ten Commandments as Moses
1956Playhouse 90 as Col. Jesse Price
1956Forbidden Area as Col. Jesse Price
1956The Steve Allen Show as Self - Actor
1956The Steve Allen Show as Self - Guest
1956Stars of Cabaret as Self (archive footage)
1955Lucy Gallant as Casey Cole
1955The Private War of Major Benson as Maj. Bernard R. 'Barney' Benson
1955The Far Horizons as Lt. William Clark
1955The $64,000 Question as Substitute Host
1954Climax! as Lt. Paul Peterson
1954Climax! as Chipman
1954Secret of the Incas as Harry Steel
1954The Naked Jungle as Christopher Leiningen
1953Bad for Each Other as Dr. Tom Owen
1953Three Lives as Self
1953Arrowhead as Ed Bannon
1953Pony Express as Captain William Frank 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
1953The President's Lady as Andrew Jackson
1953The Oscars as Self
1953General Electric Theater as Tim
1952Ruby Gentry as Boake Tackman
1952Omnibus as Self - Presenter
1952The Savage as James 'Jim' Aherne Jr. / War Bonnet
1952The Greatest Show on Earth as Brad Braden
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame as Thomas Jefferson
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame as Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex
1951A Bolt of Lightning as James Otis
1951Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1950Dark City as Danny Haley
1950The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
1950The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self - Host
1950Julius Caesar as Mark Antony
1950Your Show of Shows as Self - Guest Performer
1950Your Show of Shows as Self - Guest Host
1950What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
1950Robert Montgomery Presents as Cashel Bryon
1950Robert Montgomery Presents as Peter Handley
1950Robert Montgomery Presents as Melody Jones
1949Jane Eyre as Edward Rochester
1949Suspense
1948Studio One
1948Studio One as Col. / Dr. Michael Knowle
1948Studio One as Philip Carey
1948Studio One as Petruchio
1948Studio One as Heathcliff
1948Studio One as Edward Rochester
1948Studio One as Mitch Henderson
1948Studio One as James Otis
1948Studio One as Macbeth
1948Studio One as Merton Densher
1948Studio One as Commander Schneider
1948The Philco Television Playhouse
1948The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
1948Bambi as Self
1944Golden Globe Awards as Self
1944Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
1944Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee
1941Peer Gynt as Peer Gynt
—Science Fiction Film Awards as Himself
—"Studio One" Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff