Cited not doing a Hispanic accent for his Mexican narcotics officer Miguel 'Mike' Vargas in Touch of Evil (1958) as one of the biggest mistakes he ever made as an actor.
Co-chairman of the American Air Museum in Britain.
Did a great deal of research on the historical Cardinal Richelieu for his appearance in The Three Musketeers (1973)/The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974). Even though the character is portrayed as an antagonist, Heston gained a great deal of respect for the man's real accomplishments on behalf of France. He came across a quote attributed to Richelieu: "I have no enemies, France has enemies." He liked the line so much that he insisted it be worked into the films somewhere, and he ultimately got his wish. Though slightly modified ("I have no enemies, only enemies of France."), the line appears in the second film, in the scene where Richelieu offers d'Artagnan the opportunity to be one of his soldiers.
During the Waco standoff in 1993, Heston was hired by the FBI to provide the voice of God when talking to David Koresh in an attempt to reason with him. The plan was never used.
Elected as the president of the National Rifle Association, he was re-elected to an unprecedented 4th 3-year term in 2001.
Elected first vice-president of the National Rifle Association of America (1997).
Elected president of the National Rifle Association of America. [June 1998]
Father of director Fraser Clarke Heston and Holly Heston Rochell.
First recipient of the American Film Institute's Charlton Heston Award, created in 2003. The second recipient was his close friend Jack Valenti in 2004.
Had a fondness for drawing and sketching, and often sketched the cast and crew of his films whenever he had the chance to do so. His sketches were later published in the book Charlton Heston's Hollywood: 50 Years In American Film.
Had a hip replacement in 1996.
Has stated that he sees no contradiction with his work as a Civil Rights activist in the 1960s and his advocacy for gun ownership rights in the 1990s, insisting that he is simply promoting "freedom in the truest sense."
Has two films on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are The Ten Commandments (1956) at #79 and Ben-Hur (1959) at #56.
He and Linda Harrison are the only actors to appear in both the 1968 and 2001 versions of Planet of the Apes.
He and The Big Country (1958) co-star Gregory Peck both played the infamous Nazi war criminal, Dr. Josef Mengele: Heston in Rua Alguem 5555: My Father (2003) and Peck in The Boys from Brazil (1978).
He and his wife, Lydia Clarke, both battled cancer. He survived prostate cancer and she, breast cancer.
He campaigned for Republican presidential candidates Ronald Reagan in 1984, George Bush in 1988, George W. Bush in 2000, and Republican candidate for governor of Virginia George Allen in 1993.
He defended some of his less successful films in the mid-1960s, arguing that he had already made several million dollars and therefore wanted to concentrate on projects which interested him personally.
He is an opponent of abortion and gave the introduction to an anti-abortion documentary by Bernard Nathanson called Eclipse of Reason (1980) which focuses on late-term abortions.
He played the Roman politician and general Mark Antony in 3 different Shakespearean films: Julius Caesar (1950), Julius Caesar (1970) and Antony and Cleopatra (1972).