
Charlton Heston
Acting
Charlton Heston was an American actor renowned for his towering screen presence and roles in some of Hollywood’s most famous epics. Born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, in Illinois, he discovered his passion for acting in school, studied drama at Northwestern University, and began his career on stage and in live television before transitioning to film. He first gained major attention in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth and then became an international star with his performances as Moses in The Ten Commandments and Judah Ben‑Hur in Ben‑Hur, the latter earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Heston went on to headline a wide range of big‑budget films, including El Cid, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man, establishing himself as one of the most recognizable leading men of mid‑20th‑century cinema. Beyond acting, he was active in public life, supporting civil rights in the 1960s and later becoming a prominent conservative voice and president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. He retired from public life after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002 and died on April 5, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California, leaving behind a legacy as both a cinematic icon and a polarizing political figure.
TV Shows(55)

Talking Pictures
Self (archive footage)
2013

The Weber Show
Charlton Heston
2000

Camino de Santiago
Professor Marcelo Rinaldi
1999

Secrets of War: Shadows of The Reich
Self - Narrator (voice)
1998

Sworn to Secrecy: Secrets of War
Self - Narrator (voice)
1998

MADtv
Self
1995

Eco-Challenge
1995

The Outer Limits
Chief Justice Haden Wainwright
1995

Friends
Charlton Heston
1994

Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Self
1994

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993

seaQuest DSV
Abalon
1993

Noel's House Party
Star guest
1991
Pebble Mill
Self
1991

Korea: The Unknown War
General Douglas MacArthur (voice)
1988

The Dame Edna Experience
Self
1987

The Colbys
Jason Colby
1985

Chiefs
Hugh Holmes
1983

Wogan
Self
1982

Dynasty
Jason Colby
1981

The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
1978

Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975

Dinah!
Self
1974

Spécial cinéma
Self
1974

The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
1973
Film '72
Self
1971
V.I.P. Schaukel
Self
1971

The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
F.D.R.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1965

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962

The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962

The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Guest
1961

Kraft Mystery Theatre
Paul Malone (archive footage)
1961

Shirley Temple's Storybook
Beast
1958

Playhouse 90
Col. Jesse Price
1956

The Steve Allen Show
Self - Actor
1956

The $64,000 Question
Substitute Host
1955

Climax!
Lt. Paul Peterson
1954

The Oscars
Self
1953

General Electric Theater
Tim
1953

Omnibus
Self - Presenter
1952

Hallmark Hall of Fame
Thomas Jefferson
1951

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951

The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
1950

Your Show of Shows
Self - Guest Performer
1950

What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
1950

Robert Montgomery Presents
Cashel Bryon
1950

Suspense
1949

Studio One
1948

The Philco Television Playhouse
1948

The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948

Bambi
Self
1948

Golden Globe Awards
Self
1944

Science Fiction Film Awards
Himself
Movies(194)

Airports
2025

Planet of the Apes: A Milestone of Science Fiction
Self (archive footage)
2024

Charlton Heston: Radical to Right Wing
Self (archive footage)
2023

Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2020

Todos los nombres de Sara
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019

Hail Satan?
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019

Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019

I Am Richard Pryor
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2019

Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
(archive footage)
2019

The Madding Crowd
Self (archive footage)
2017

Bienvenido Mr. Heston
Self (archive footage)
2016

The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
Self
2016

Spanish Western
Self (archive footage)
2015
Children of the Civil Rights
Self (archival footage)
2015

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2014

Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
Self - Actor (archive footage)
2014

Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
Self (archive footage)
2013

Charlton Heston and Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey
Self (archive footage)
2011

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
(archive footage)
2010

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Self – Interviewee
2010

Hollywood sul Tevere
2009

Greatest Heroes and Legends: The Story of Moses
Self - Host / Moses
2008

AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition
Self (archive footage)
2007

De Madrid a la Luna
Self (archive footage)
2006

Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
Self (archive footage)
2005

Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Self (archive footage)
2004

Remembering Reagan at His Ranch
Host
2004

Christmas in Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
2003

The Making of The Ten Commandments
Self (archive footage)
2003

My Father
Josef Mengele
2003

Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den
Self - Host
2003

Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Jonah and the Whale
Self - Host
2003

Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: David and Goliath
Self - Host
2003

Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Samson and Delilah
Self - Host
2003

Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: The Garden of Eden
Self - Host
2003

Greatest Heroes and Legends of The Bible: Joshua and the Battle of Jericho
Self - Host
2003

Ben Hur
Ben Hur (voice)
2003

Lasting Love
2003

Edith Head: The Paramount Years
Self (archive footage)
2002

The Face of Evil: Reinhard Heydrich
Narrator (voice)
2002

Bowling for Columbine
Self - NRA President
2002

The Making of 'Tombstone'
Self
2002

Last Party 2000
Self
2001

The Making of Midway
Self
2001

Planet of the Apes
Zaius (uncredited)
2001

Cats & Dogs
The Mastiff (voice)
2001
The Gun Deadlock
Self
2001

The Order
Professor Finley
2001

Town & Country
Mr. Clayborne
2001

Hollywood at Your Feet: The Story of the Chinese Theatre Footprints
Self
2000

Any Given Sunday
AFFA Football Commissioner
1999

Yesterday's Tomorrows
Self
1999
Television: The First Fifty Years
Self
1999

Forever Hollywood
Self
1999
Private Screenings: Charlton Heston
Self
1998

Gideon
Addison Sinclair
1998

Behind the Planet of the Apes
Self - 'Taylor'
1998

Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
Self - Narrator (voice)
1998

Armageddon
Narration (voice)
1998

Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
Self
1998

Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Genesis
Self - Host
1997

Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western
Self
1997

Hercules
Narrator (voice)
1997

Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
Self
1997

Charlton Heston Presents the Bible
Self - Narrator
1997

Hamlet
Player King
1996

Love in Hollywood
Self
1996

Alaska
Perry
1996

Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels
Self
1996
Andersonville Diaries
Narrator
1996

The Mysterious Origins of Man
Self - Host
1996

The Lord Protector
Narrator (voice)
1996

Texas
Narrator
1995

Charlton Heston: For All Seasons
Self
1995

In the Mouth of Madness
Jackson Harglow
1995

The Avenging Angel
Brigham Young
1995

True Lies
Spencer Trilby
1994

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
Self
1994

The Legacy of Malthus
Self (Population Institute, 1993) (archive footage)
1994

The Bible According to Hollywood
Self
1994

A Century of Cinema
Self
1994

Tombstone
Henry Hooker
1993

Wayne's World 2
Good Actor
1993

The Mystery of the Sphinx
Narrator
1993

Charlton Heston Presents the Bible: Jesus of Nazareth
Self - Host
1993

Charlton Heston Presents The Bible: The Story of Moses
Self - Host
1993

Noël
Narrator
1992

Solar Crisis
Adm. "Skeet" Kelso
1992

Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232
Captain Al Haynes
1992

Symphony for the Spire
1992

The Crucifer of Blood
Sherlock Holmes
1991
Cults: Saying No Under Pressure
Narrator
1991

Air Force One: The Planes and the Presidents
Host and Narrator
1991

Almost an Angel
God
1990

A Night on Mount Edna
Self
1990

The Little Kidnappers
James MacKenzie
1990
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
Self
1990

Treasure Island
Long John Silver
1990

Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary
Self
1989

Original Sin
Louis Mancini
1989

Call from Space
Alien (voice)
1989

A Man for All Seasons
Sir Thomas More
1988

Proud Men
Charley MacLeod Sr.
1987
Andrew Weyth, The Helga Pictures
Self - Host
1987

Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
1987

Eclipse of Reason
Narrator
1987

The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
Self
1986

Directed by William Wyler
Self
1986

The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team
Self - Performer
1984

Nairobi Affair
Lee Cahill
1984

Barry Norman in Celebrity City
Self
1982

Mother Lode
Silas McGee / Ian McGee
1982

The Orson Welles Story
Self
1982

Let Poland Be Poland
Self - Co-Host
1982
This Is Your Life: 30th Anniversary Special
Self
1981

The Awakening
Matthew Corbeck
1980

The Mountain Men
Bill Tyler
1980

Gray Lady Down
Captain Paul Blanchard
1978

Energy: A National Issue
Narrator (voice)
1977

The Prince and the Pauper
Henry VIII
1977

Two-Minute Warning
Capt. Peter Holly
1976

America at the Movies
Narrator
1976

Midway
Capt. Matthew Garth
1976

The Last Hard Men
Sam Burgade
1976

Earthquake
Stewart Graff
1974

The Four Musketeers
Cardinal Richelieu
1974

Airport 1975
Alan Murdock
1974

The Three Musketeers
Cardinal Richelieu
1973

Soylent Green
Detective Robert Thorn
1973

A Look at the World of 'Soylent Green'
Self
1973

The Call of the Wild
John Thornton
1972

Skyjacked
Capt. Henry 'Hank' O'Hara
1972

Antony and Cleopatra
Marc Antony
1972

The Special London Bridge Special
Tennis Player
1972

Vietnam! Vietnam!
Narrator (voice)
1971

The Omega Man
Robert Neville
1971

The Last Man Alive: The Omega Man
Self - Narrator
1971

The Hawaiians
Whip Hoxworth
1970

Julius Caesar
Marc Antony
1970

Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Taylor
1970

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
1970

Number One
Ron "Cat" Catlan
1969

Planet of the Apes
George Taylor
1968

Elizabeth the Queen
Lord Essex
1968

Rowan & Martin at the Movies
Self
1968

Counterpoint
Lionel Evans
1967

Will Penny
Will Penny
1967

While I Run This Race
Narrator
1967

Khartoum
Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon
1966

Planet of the Apes Test Reel
Thomas
1966

The War Lord
Chrysagon
1965
Night of the Dragon
Narrator
1965

The Agony and the Ecstasy
Michelangelo
1965

Uncertain Verification
(archive footage)
1965

The Greatest Story Ever Told
John the Baptist
1965

Major Dundee
Major Amos Charles Dundee
1965
The Patriots
Thomas Jefferson
1963

The Five Cities of June
Narrator
1963

55 Days at Peking
Maj. Matt Lewis
1963

The Greatest All-Star Advertial of All Time
Self
1963
Look at Life: The City's Built for Shooting
Self
1963

Diamond Head
Richard 'King' Howland
1962

The Pigeon That Took Rome
Captain Paul MacDougall / Benny the Snatch / Narrator
1962

El Cid
El Cid Rodrigo de Vivar
1961

Ben-Hur
Judah Ben-Hur
1959

The Wreck of the Mary Deare
John Sands
1959

The Buccaneer
Gen. Andrew Jackson
1958

The Big Country
Steve Leech
1958

Touch of Evil
Ramon Miguel Vargas
1958

Fun in the Big Country
Self
1958

Three Violent People
Colt Saunders
1956

The Ten Commandments
Moses
1956
Forbidden Area
Col. Jesse Price
1956

Stars of Cabaret
Self (archive footage)
1956

Lucy Gallant
Casey Cole
1955

The Private War of Major Benson
Maj. Bernard R. 'Barney' Benson
1955

The Far Horizons
Lt. William Clark
1955

Secret of the Incas
Harry Steel
1954

The Naked Jungle
Christopher Leiningen
1954

Bad for Each Other
Dr. Tom Owen
1953
Three Lives
Self
1953

Arrowhead
Ed Bannon
1953

Pony Express
Captain William Frank 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
1953

The President's Lady
Andrew Jackson
1953

Ruby Gentry
Boake Tackman
1952

The Savage
James 'Jim' Aherne Jr. / War Bonnet
1952

The Greatest Show on Earth
Brad Braden
1952

A Bolt of Lightning
James Otis
1951

Studio One: Wuthering Heights
Heathcliff
1950

Dark City
Danny Haley
1950

The Taming of the Shrew
Petruchio
1950

Julius Caesar
Mark Antony
1950

Jane Eyre
Edward Rochester
1949

Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
1941