What’s in a nickname? Jon Voight‘s 18-year-old grandson, Maddox, has earned a special moniker.
“They call him Duck Sue in South Korea,” the actor, 81, told Us Weekly and other reporters of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s eldest at the Gold Meets Golden Pre-Golden Globes event on Saturday, January 4. “From their language … it’s a perfect name for him. They call him Duck. It’s a cute thing, isn’t it?”
The teenager started his freshman year of college at Yonsei University in South Korea in August. Jolie, 44, who also shares Pax, 16, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 13, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 11, with Pitt, 56, dropped Maddox off at the time.
The Maleficent star was “trying not to cry” on campus, she admitted in a social media video at the time. “I leave today, today’s the day I drop him off,” Jolie explained. “It seems like a great school.”
The Los Angeles native told Us and other reporters later that same month how “excited” she was about her son’s decision. “He’s ready, and he’s so smart. And I’m so proud of him,” she gushed.
As for Voight, the New York native isn’t “sure” he’s going to his grandson’s university for a visit. “I just [saw] him recently,” he explained to Us on Saturday. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get over to South Korea. I’d love to.”
The Midnight Cowboy star went on to praise his “unique” grandchildren, adding, “They all have something special. What you want to do is provide them with the tools to express that.”
Pitt also has yet to see Maddox at school, and his son hasn’t “been receptive” to a visit, a source told Us exclusively in October. “Brad has talked to Angelina about visiting Maddox in Seoul,” the insider explained at the time. “Angelina has been trying to heal the rift between father and son. … Brad remains upbeat that Maddox will reach out.”
The biochemistry major and Pitt have had a strained relationship since they allegedly got into an altercation on a private jet in 2016.
The Fight Club star spent time with his “younger kids on Christmas Eve” this year, but his eldest three children chose to skip the holidays with their dad, another source told Us in December. “Last year Zahara spent a few hours with him,” the insider said at the time, but he wasn’t “expecting” her this year.
The Missouri native and Jolie split in 2016. In April, the former couple filed papers to be deemed legally single while their divorce proceedings continue.
With reporting by Emily Marcus
