Robert Selden Duvall (born
January 5,
1931) is an
American film actor and
director who has won an
Academy Award, two
Emmy Awards, and four
Golden Globe Awards. He has appeared in films such as
To Kill a Mockingbird,
The Godfather,
The Godfather Part II,
Apocalypse Now,
The Natural,
Network,
THX 1138,
MASH,
The Great Santini,
Tender Mercies,
Lonesome Dove,
Colors, and
The Apostle.
Biography
Early life
Duvall was born in
San Diego,
California, the son of Mildred Virginia (
née Hart), an amateur actress and relative of
American Civil War General
Robert E. Lee, and William Howard Duvall, a
Virginia-born
U.S. Navy admiral.
Duvall's father was a
Methodist and his mother was a Christian Scientist, and Duvall was raised in the
Christian Science religion.
[The Religious Affiliation of Robert Duvall. Adherents.com.] Duvall grew up in a military family, living for a time in
Annapolis,
Maryland near the
United States Naval Academy. He attended
Severn School in
Severna Park,
Maryland and
The Principia in
St. Louis, Missouri and graduated, in 1953,
Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. He served in the
United States Army (
service number 52 346 646) from
19 August 1953 to
20 August 1954, leaving as
Private First Class. While stationed at Fort Gordon in
Georgia, Duvall acted in an amateur production of the comedy "
Room Service" in nearby
Augusta.
After leaving the Army, Duvall studied
acting at the
Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in
New York under
Sanford Meisner. While working to become an actor, he worked as a Manhattan
post office clerk. Duvall is friends with actors
Dustin Hoffman and
Gene Hackman whom he knew during their years as struggling actors.
At one point, Duvall roomed with Hoffman while they were looking for work.
Career
Duvall's screen debut was as Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Duvall later played the notorious malefactor Ned Pepper in
True Grit (1969), and
Major Frank Burns in the film version of
MASH (1970), but his breakout role was that of
Tom Hagen in
The Godfather (1972) and
The Godfather Part II (1974). He received an Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actor in
A Civil Action and for his role as Lt. Colonel Kilgore in
Apocalypse Now (1979). He also received a nomination for
Best Actor in a Leading Role in
The Great Santini as Lt. Col. "Bull" Meechum who was loosely based on world famous Marine Aviator, Colonel
Donald Conroy. He won Oscar's
Best Actor in
Tender Mercies (1983). His line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" from
Apocalypse Now is now regarded as
iconic in
cinema history. The full text is as follows:
[
National Medal of Arts winners.jpg|thumb|320px|President [[George W. Bush] stands with recipients of the 2005
National Medal of Arts on
November 9,
2005, in the
Oval Office. Among those recognized for their outstanding contributions to the arts were, from left:
Leonard Garment,
Louis Auchincloss,
Paquito D'Rivera,
James De Preist,
Tina Ramirez,
Robert Duvall, and
Ollie Johnston]].
He directed the critically acclaimed
The Apostle, about a preacher on the run from the law, and
Assassination Tango (2002), a thriller about one of his favorite hobbies,
tango. He received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame on
September 18,
2003.
Duvall portrayed General
Robert E. Lee in
Gods and Generals in 2003 and is actually a relative of the
Confederate general. He has stated in several forums, including
CBS Sunday Morning, that his favorite role was that of
Augustus "Gus" McCrae in
Lonesome Dove.
In 2005, he was awarded a
National Medal of Arts by
President George W. Bush at the
White House.
[President George W. Bush stands with recipients of the 2005 National Medal of Arts winners Thursday, Nov. 9, 2005, in the Oval Office. Among those recognized for their outstanding contributions to the arts were, from left: Leonard Garment, arts advocate; Louis Auchincloss, author; Paquito D'Rivera, jazzist; James De Preist, symphony conductor; Tina Ramirez, choreographer; Robert Duval, actor, and Ollie Johnston, animator. White House photo by Eric Draper]
Personal life
Duvall is close friends with
Dustin Hoffman and
Gene Hackman, both of whom he has known since their struggling actor days. He has been married four times, the first to Barbara Benjamin, from 1964 until 1975. He then married Gail Youngs (1982–1986) and Sharon Brophy (1991–1996).
In 2005, Duvall married
Luciana Pedraza, granddaughter of famous
Argentine aviator
Susana Ferrari Billinghurst. He met Pedraza on a street in
Buenos Aires,
Argentina. They were both born on
January 5, but Duvall is 41 years older. They have been together since 1997. Duvall and Luciana have been active supporters of Pro Mujer, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Latin America's poorest women help themselves through micro-credit, business training and health care linkages.
Duvall speaks fluent
Spanish and maintains a farm in The Plains in
Fauquier County,
Virginia. He has the same birthday as
Godfather co-star
Diane Keaton who was born in 1946. His favorite city is Buenos Aires. He is an avid
Tango dancer and
soccer fan. Duvall faxed a message of support to
Dumfries club
Queen of the South ahead of the team playing in the 2008
Scottish Cup Final.
[A supporting role from Hollywood - Dumfries and Galloway Standard] Duvall became acquainted with the club in filming scenes in 1999 for 'A Shot at Glory'.
Duvall's
political views are variously described as
libertarian or
conservative.
He was personally invited to
Republican President George W. Bush's
inauguration in 2001. In
September 2007, he announced his support for
Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.
Duvall worked the floor at the GOP's
2008 national convention and, according to a 29 August 2008
MSNBC article, Duvall narrated most of the videos for the convention. In September 2008, he appeared on stage at a
John McCain-
Sarah Palin rally in
New Mexico, and he told an October 2008 GOP fundraiser that "As far as I'm concerned, we've got to keep this guy
Obama out of the White House."
Duvall is related to Barack Obama through a common ancestor, Mareen Duvall who immigrated to what is now Maryland from France. Duvall is also related to former President Harry Truman and Current Vice-President Dick Cheney, all through the same common ancestor.
Filmography
|George Hanson
|
| Breakout
| Jay Wagner
|
|
| 1976
| The Eagle Has Landed
| Oberst Max Radl
|
|
| The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
| Dr. Watson
|
|
| Network
| Frank Hackett
| Nominated - BAFTA Award
|
| 1977
| The Greatest
| Bill McDonald
|
|
| 1978
| Invasion of the Body Snatchers
| Priest on swing
| uncredited
|
| The Betsy
| Loren Hardeman III
|
|
| 1979
| Apocalypse Now
| Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore
| BAFTA Award; Golden Globe Award; Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
|
| The Great Santini
| Bull Meechum
| Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor
|
| Ike
| Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
| TV mini-series
|
| 1981
| True Confessions
| Thomas Spellacy
|
|
| 1983
| Tender Mercies
| Max Sledge
| Academy Award for Best Actor; Golden Globe Award
|
| 1984
| The Natural
| Max Mercy
|
|
| 1986
| The Lightship
| Calvin Caspary
|
|
| 1988
| Colors
| Officer Bob Hodges
|
|
| 1989
| Lonesome Dove
| Augustus "Gus" McCrae
| Golden Globe Award; Nominated - Emmy Award, stated this was his favorite role
|
| 1990
| A Show of Force
| Howard
|
|
| Days of Thunder
| Harry Hogge
|
|
| The Handmaid's Tale
| The Commander
|
|
| 1991
| Rambling Rose
| Daddy Hilyer
|
|
| Convicts
| Soll
|
|
| 1992
| Stalin
| Josef Stalin
| Golden Globe Award; Nominated - Emmy Award
|
| Newsies
| Joseph Pulitzer
|
|
| 1993
| Falling Down
| Prendergast
|
|
| Wrestling Ernest Hemingway
| Walter
|
|
| Geronimo: An American Legend
| Al Sieber
|
|
| 1994
| The Paper
| Bernie White
|
|
| 1995
| Something to Talk About
| Wyly King
|
|
| The Stars Fell on Henrietta
| Mr. Cox
|
|
| The Scarlet Letter
| Roger Chillingworth
|
|
| 1996
| Sling Blade
| Karl's father
|
|
| The Man Who Captured Eichmann
| Adolf Eichmann
| Nominated - Emmy Award
|
| A Family Thing
| Earl Pilcher Jr.
|
|
| Phenomenon
| Doc Brunder
|
|
| 1997
| The Apostle
| Euliss 'Sonny' Dewey - The Apostle E.F.
| Writer/Director Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor
|
| 1998
| The Gingerbread Man
| Dixon Doss
|
|
| A Civil Action
| Jerome Facher
| Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Nominated - Golden Globe Award
|
| Deep Impact
| Capt. Spurgeon 'Fish' Tanner
|
|
| 2000
| Gone in 60 Seconds
| Otto Halliwell
|
|
| The 6th Day
| Dr. Griffin Weir
|
|
| A Shot at Glory
| Gordon McLeod
|
|
| 2002
| John Q
| Lt. Frank Grimes
|
|
| Assassination Tango
| John J. Anderson
| Writer/Director
|
| 2003
| Gods and Generals
| Gen. Robert E. Lee
|
|
| Secondhand Lions
| Hub
|
|
| Open Range
| Boss Spearman
|
|
| 2005
| Kicking & Screaming
| Buck Weston
|
|
| Thank You for Smoking
| Doak "The Captain" Boykin
|
|
| 2006
| Broken Trail
| Prentice "Print" Ritter
| Emmy Award; Nominated - Golden Globe Award
|
| 2007
| Lucky You
| Mr. Cheever
|
|
| We Own the Night
| Albert Grusinsky
|
|
| 2008
| Four Christmases
| Howard
|
|
| The Road
| Old Man
| in post-production
|
