Robert Selden Duvall (born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.

He began his career appearing in theatre during the late 1950s, moving into small to supporting television and film roles during the early 1960s in such works as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Captain Newman, M.D. (1963). He started to land much larger roles during the early 1970s with movies like MASH (1970) and THX 1138 (1971). This was followed by a series of critical successes: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), Network (1976), The Great Santini (1979), Apocalypse Now (1979), and True Confessions (1981).

Since then Duvall has remained an important presence in both film and television with such productions as Tender Mercies (1983), The Natural (1984), Colors (1988), Lonesome Dove (1989), Stalin (1992), The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996), The Apostle (1997), A Civil Action (1998), Gods and Generals (2003) and Broken Trail (2006).

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 reared 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 Camp Gordon (now known as 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.

Early career: 1958-1969

Duvall began his career in the theatre, making his professional debut Off-Broadway at the Gate Theatre as Frank Gardner in George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession on June 25, 1958. Other notable early theatre credits include the role of Doug in the premiere of Michael Shurtleff's Call Me By My Rightful Name in 1961 and the role of Bob Smith in the premiere of William Snyder's The Days and Nights of BeeBee Fenstermaker in 1962, both at Off-Broadway theatres. He won an Obie Award in 1965 for his performance of Eddie in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge at the Sheridan Square Playhouse; a production directed by Ulu Grosbard and Dustin Hoffman. The following year he made his Broadway debut as Harry Roat, Jr in Frederick Knott's Wait Until Dark.

In 1959, Duvall made his first television appearance on Armstrong Circle Theatre in the episode The Jailbreak. He appeared regularly on television as a guest actor during the 1960s, often in action, suspense, detective, or crime dramas. His appearances during this time include performances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, The Untouchables, Route 66, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, T.H.E. Cat, and The Mod Squad to name just a few.

Duvall's screen debut was as Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). He was cast in the film on the recommendation of screenwriter Horton Foote, who met Duvall at Neighborhood Playhouse during a 1957 production of Foote's play, The Midnight Caller. Foote, who would collaborate with Duvall many more times over the course of their careers, said he believed Duvall had a particular love of common people and ability to infuse fascinating revelations into his roles. Foote has described Duvall as "our number one actor."

After To Kill a Mockingbird, Duvall appeared in a number of films during the 1960s, mostly in mid sized parts but also in a few larger supporting roles. Some of his more notable appearances include the role of Capt. Paul Cabot Winston in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), Chiz in Countdown (1968), Gordon in The Rain People (1969), and the notorious malefactor "Lucky" Ned Pepper in True Grit (1969), in which he engaged in a climactic shootout with John Wayne's Rooster Cogburn on horseback.

Mid career: 1970-1989

Duvall became an important presence in American films beginning in the 1970s. He drew a considerable amount of attention in 1970 for his portrayal of Major Frank Burns in the film MASH and for his portrayal of the title role in the cult classic THX 1138 in 1971. His first major critical success were came portraying consigliere (family counsel) Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). The former film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

He received another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and won both a BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as Lt. Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979). 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:


Duvall received a BAFTA Award nomination for his portrayal of television executive Frank Hackett in the critically acclaimed film Network (1976) and garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in The Great Santini (1979) as the hard-boiled Marine and overbearing parent Lt. Col. "Bull" Meechum. The latter role was loosely based on a world-famous Marine aviator, Colonel Donald Conroy. He also portrayed United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower is the television miniseries Ike (1979).

In 1977 Duvall returned to Broadway to appear as Walter Cole in David Mamet's American Buffalo. For his performance he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play. To date, Duvall has not returned to the New York stage.


Duvall continued to appear in important films during the 1980s, including the roles of cynical sportswriter Max Mercy in The Natural (1984) and Los Angeles police officer Bob Hodges in Colors (1988). He won an Oscar for Best Actor as country western singer Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies (1983). Foote was rumored to have written the part for Duvall, who had always wanted to play a country singer and contributed ideas for the character. Foote denied this, claiming he found it too constraining to write roles for specific actors, but he did hope Duvall would be cast. Duvall was said to have written the music, but the actor said he wrote only a few "background, secondary songs." Duvall did do his own singing, insisting it be added to his contract that he sing the songs himself; Duvall said, "What's the point if you're not going to do your own (singing)? They're just going to dub somebody else? I mean, there's no point to that."

Actress Tess Harper, who co-starred, said Duvall inhabited the character so fully that she only got to know Mac Sledge and not Duvall himself. Director Bruce Beresford, too, said the transformation was so believable to him that he could feel his skin crawling up the back of his neck the first day of filming with Duvall. Beresford said of the actor, "Duvall has the ability to completely inhabit the person he's acting. He totally and utterly becomes that person to a degree which is uncanny." Nevertheless, Duvall and Beresford did not get along well during the production and often clashed during filming, including one day in which Beresford walked off the set in frustration.

In 1989, Duvall appeared in the landmark mini-series Lonesome Dove in the role of Augustus "Gus" McCrae. He has stated in several forums, including CBS Sunday Morning, that this particular role was his personal favorite. He won a Golden Globe Award and earned an Emmy Award nomination. For his role as a former Texas Ranger peace officer, Duvall was trained in the use of Walker revolvers by the Texas marksman Joe Bowman.

Later career: 1990-present

[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]].
Duvall has maintained a busy film career, sometimes appearing in as many as four in one year. He received Oscar nominations for his portrayals of evangelical preacher Euliss "Sonny" Dewey in The Apostle (1997) — a film he also wrote and directed — and lawyer Jerome Facher in A Civil Action (1998).

He directed Assassination Tango (2002), a thriller about one of his favorite hobbies, tango. He portrayed General Robert E. Lee in Gods and Generals in 2003 and is actually a relative of the Confederate general.

Other roles during this period that displayed the actor's wide range included that of a retiring cop in Falling Down (1992), a Hispanic barber in Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993), a New York tabloid editor in The Paper (1994), a rural doctor in Phenomenon (1996), an astronaut in Deep Impact (1998), a trail boss in Open Range (2003), a soccer coach in the comedy Kicking & Screaming (2005), a Las Vegas poker champion in Lucky You and a New York police captain in We Own the Night (both 2007).

He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 18, 2003.

Duvall has periodically worked in television during the last two decades. He won a Golden Globe and garnered an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the 1992 television movie Stalin. He was nominated for an Emmy again in 1997 for portraying Adolf Eichmann in The Man Who Captured Eichmann. In 2006, he won an Emmy for the role of Prentice "Print" Ritter in the revisionist Western miniseries Broken Trail.

In 2005, Duvall was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush at the White House."Home > News & Policies > November 2005." George W. Bush White House Archives. November 10, 2005.

Personal life

[Duvall by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|Duvall at the 2007 [[Tribeca Film Festival].]]
Duvall has been married four times, first to Barbara Benjamin from 1964 until 1975. He then married Gail Youngs (1982–1986) (temporarily being the brother-in-law of John Savage and Robin Young) and Sharon Brophy (1991–1996).

In 2005, Duvall wed 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'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. In May 2009 he spoke for historic preservation against WalMart's proposal to build a store across the road from the entrance to the Wilderness Battlefield national park in Orange County, Virginia.

Duvall is distantly related to former President Harry S. Truman, current President Barack Obama, former Vice-President Dick Cheney and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor through the same common ancestor.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1959	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Berks	Season #10, Episode #2, "The Jailbreak"
1960	Armstrong Circle Theatre		Season #10, Episode #16, "Positive Identification"
	Playhouse 90		Season #4, Episode #8, "John Brown's Raid"
1961	The Defenders	Al Rogart	Season #1, Episode #12, "Perjury"
	Great Ghost Tales	William Wilson	Season #1, Episode #1, "William Wilson"
	Shannon	Joey Nolan	Season #1, Episode #10, "The Big Fish"
	Cain's Hundred	Tom Nugent	Season #1, Episode #6, "King of the Mountain"
	Route 66	Roman	Season #1, Episode #25, "The Newborn"
	Route 66	Arnie	Season #2, Episode #4, "Birdcage on My Foot"
	Naked City	Lewis Nunda	Season #2, Episode #13, "A Hole in the City"
1962	To Kill a Mockingbird	Arthur "Boo" Radley
	Naked City	L. Francis 'Frank' Childe	Season #3, Episode #23, "The One Marked Hot Gives Cold "
	Naked City	Johnny Meigs	Season #4, Episode #6, "Five Cranks for Winter... Ten Cranks for Spring"
	Naked City	Barney Sonners	Season #4, Episode #8, "Torment Him Much and Hold Him Long "
1963	The Untouchables	Eddie Moon	Season #4, Episode #17, "Blues for a Gone Goose"
	The Defenders	Luke Jackson	Season #2, Episode #24, "Metamorphosis"
	Route 66	Lee Winters	Season #3, Episode #18, "Suppose I Said I Was the Queen of Spain"
	The Twilight Zone	Charley Parkes	Season #4, Episode #8, "Miniature"
	The Virginian	Johnny Keel	Season #1, Episode #24, "The Golden Door"
	Stoney Burke	Joby Pierce	Season #1, Episode #23, "Joby"
	Arrest and Trial	Morton Ware	Season #1, Episode #10, "The Quality of Justice"
	The Fugitive	Eric Christian	Season #1, Episode #4, "Never Wave Goodbye"
	Captain Newman, M.D.	Capt. Paul Cabot Winston
1964	The Lieutenant		Season #1, Episode #25, "Man with an Edge"
	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Harvey Farnsworth	Season #1, Episode #22, "Portrait of an Unknown Man"
	The Outer Limits	Adam Ballard	Episodes #42, 43, "The Inheritors"
	The Outer Limits	Louis Mace	Episode #31, "The Chameleon"
1965	Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea	Zar	Season #1, Episode #20, "The Invaders"
	Combat!	Karl	Season #3, Episode #16, "The Enemy"
	The Defenders	Bill Andrews	Season #4, Episode #30, "Only a Child"
	The Fugitive	Leslie Sessions	Season #2, Episode #16, "Brass Ring"
	Nightmare in the Sun	Motorcyclist
1966	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Frank Reeser	Season #3, Episode #15, "Guilty or Not Guilty"
	The F.B.I.	Johnny Albin	Season #2, Episode #5, "The Scourge"
	Combat!	Peter Halsman	Season #5, Episode #14, "Cry for Help"
	Hawk	Dick	Season #1, Episode #6, "The Theory of the Innocent Bystander"
	Felony Squad	Albie Froehlich	Season #1, Episode #8, "Death of a Dream"
	Shane	Tom Gary	Season #1, Episode #9, "Poor Tom's A-Cold"
	T.H.E. Cat	Laurent	Season #1, Episode #9, "Crossing at Destino Bay"
	Fame Is the Name of the Game	Eddie Franchot
	The Chase	Edwin Stewart
1967	The Time Tunnel	Raul Nimon	Season #1, Episode #24, "Chase Through Time"
	Cimarron Strip	Joe Wyman	Season #1, Episode #18, "The Roarer"
	The Wild Wild West	Dr. Horace Humphries	Season #3, Episode #10, "The Night of the Falcon "
	The F.B.I.	Ernie Milden	Season #2, Episode #25-26, "The Executioners"
	T.H.E. Cat	Laurent	Season #1, Episode #24, "The Long Chase"
	Combat!	Michel	Season #5, Episode #25, "The Partisan"
	Cosa Nostra, Arch Enemy of the FBI	Ernie Milden
1968	Flesh and Blood	Howard
	CBS Playhouse	Dr. Margolin	Season #2, Episode #1, "The People Next Door"
	Run for Your Life	Richard Fletcher	Season #3, Episode #19, "The Killing Scene"
	Judd, for the Defense	Raymond Cane	Season #1, Episode #24, "Square House"
	The F.B.I.	Joseph Troy	Season #4, Episode #9, "The Harvest"
	The Detective	Nestor
	Countdown	Chiz
	Bullitt	Weissberg
1969	The Mod Squad	Matt Jenkins	Season #1, Episode #23, "Keep the Faith, Baby"
	The F.B.I.	Gerald Wilson	Season #5, Episode #2, "Nightmare Road"
	True Grit	Ned Pepper
	The Rain People	Gordon
1970	M*A*S*H	Frank Burns
	The Revolutionary	Despard
1971	THX 1138	THX 1138
	Lawman	Vernon Adams
1972	The Godfather	Tom Hagen	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
	The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid	Jesse James
	Tomorrow	Jackson Fentry
	Joe Kidd	Frank Harlan
1973	The Outfit	Earl Macklin
	Badge 373	Eddie Ryan
	Lady Ice	Ford Pierce
1974	The Conversation	The Director	uncredited
	The Godfather: Part II	Tom Hagen
1975	The Killer Elite	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 for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1977	The Greatest	Bill McDonald
1978	Ike: The War Years	Dwight D. Eisenhower
	Invasion of the Body Snatchers	Priest on swing	uncredited
	The Betsy	Loren Hardeman III
1979	Ike	Dwight D. Eisenhower	TV mini-series
	Apocalypse Now	Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
	The Great Santini	Bull Meechum	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor
1981	True Confessions	Thomas Spellacy	Venice Film Festival Pasinetti Cup for Best Actor
	The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper	Gruen
1983	Tender Mercies	Mac Sledge	Academy Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
	The Terry Fox Story	Bill Vigars	Nominated — CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Dramatic Presentation
	Angelo My Love	n/a	Director
1984	The Stone Boy	Joe Hillerman
	The Natural	Max Mercy
1986	Let's Get Harry	Norman Shrike
	Belizaire the Cajun	The Preacher
	Waylon Jennings: America	Doctor
	The Lightship	Calvin Caspary	Venice Film Festival Pasinetti Cup for Best Actor
1987	Hotel Colonial	Roberto Carrasco
1988	Colors	Officer Bob Hodges
1989	Lonesome Dove	Augustus "Gus" McCrae	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
1990	A Show of Force	Howard
	Days of Thunder	Harry Hogge
	The Handmaid's Tale	The Commander
1991	Rambling Rose	Daddy Hilyer	Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male
	Convicts	Soll
1992	Stalin	Josef Stalin	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie
	Newsies	Joseph Pulitzer
	La Peste	Joseph Grand
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	Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	The Man Who Captured Eichmann	Adolf Eichmann	Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
	A Family Thing	Earl Pilcher Jr.
	Phenomenon	Doc Brunder
1997	The Apostle	Euliss 'Sonny' Dewey — The Apostle E.F.	Writer/Director Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male Independent Spirit Award for Best Director Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
1998	The Gingerbread Man	Dixon Doss
	A Civil Action	Jerome Facher	Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
	Deep Impact	Capt. Spurgeon 'Fish' Tanner
	Saturday Night Live	various	Season #23, Episode #14, hosted by Garth Brooks
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	American Experience	Narrator	Season #17, Episode #10, "The Carter Family: Will the Circle"
	Kicking & Screaming	Buck Weston
	Thank You for Smoking	Doak "The Captain" Boykin
2006	Broken Trail	Prentice "Print" Ritter	Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2007	Lucky You	Mr. Cheever
	We Own the Night	Albert Grusinsky
2008	Four Christmases	Howard
2009	Crazy Heart	Wayne Kramer	(post-production)
	The Road	Old Man
2010	Get Low		(post-production)