Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (born
January 5,
1931) is an
Academy Award-winning
American film actor and
director.
Early life
Duvall was born in
San Diego,
California. His father, William Howard Duvall, was a former
US Navy admiral with
French Huguenot roots; his mother was an amateur actress and a descendant of
American Civil War General
Robert E. Lee. His father was a
Methodist and his mother was a
Christian Scientist; he was raised in the
Christian Science religion, which he claims to follow today despite many years living a decidedly un-Christian lifestyle (as he states in a 2006 article in
Vanity Fair).
Duvall grew up in a military family, living for a time in
Annapolis,
Maryland near the
United States Naval Academy. He served in the
United States Army (
service number 52 346 646) from 19 August 1953 to 20 August 1954, achieving the rank of
Private First Class and awarded the
National Defense Service Medal.
Duvall studied
acting at The
Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in
New York under
Sanford Meisner. While struggling as an actor, he worked at a Manhattan post office as a clerk but quit after six months. Duvall said he didn't want to be working at the same place twenty years from now.
Film career
|
Duvall starred in two of Francis Ford Coppola's acclaimed works: The Godfather series and Apocalypse Now. Here is a screen capture from Apocalypse Now when he recites his most famous line, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," rated the most popular in cinema by a poll conducted by the BBC (see external links). |
His screen debut was as
Boo Radley in the critically acclaimed
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) he later played the notorious malefactor Ned Pepper in True Grit (1969) but his breakout role was a decade later as 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 Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now (1979). His "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" line from Apocalypse Now'' is now regarded as an iconic quote in cinema history:
"You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end..."
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 was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2005. 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 distant relative of the historical figure.
Academy Awards
Wins:*1983 -
Best Actor in
Tender MerciesNominations:*1972 -
Best Supporting Actor in
The Godfather*1979 -
Best Supporting Actor in
Apocalypse Now*1980 -
Best Actor in
The Great Santini*1997 -
Best Actor in
The Apostle*1998 -
Best Supporting Actor in
A Civil ActionPersonal life
Duvall is close friends with
Dustin Hoffman and
Gene Hackman, both of whom he's known since their struggling actor days.
Duvall has been married four times:
* Barbara Benjamin (1964 - 1975)
* Gail Youngs (1982 - 1986)
* Sharon Brophy (1991 - 1996)
*
Luciana Pedraza (2005 - present)
He met Pedraza on a street in Buenos Aires. They were both born on January 5, but Duvall is 40 years older. They have been together since 1997.
Duvall speaks fluent Spanish and maintains a home in
Virginia. He has the same birthday as
Godfather co-star
Diane Keaton. His favorite city is Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is an avid
Tango dancer and
soccer fan.
A Night in Old Mexico (2006) (in production)
The Berkeley Connection (2006) (announced)
Bee Movie (2007) (filming) (voice)
Lucky You (2006) (post-production) .... Mr. Cheever
Broken Trail (2006)
Thank You For Smoking (2006) ... Doak "The Captain" Boykin
The Godfather: The Game (2005) (VG) (voice) .... Tom Hagen
Kicking & Screaming (2005) .... Buck Weston
Open Range (2003) .... Boss Spearman
Secondhand Lions (2003) .... Hub
Gods and Generals (2003) .... Gen. Robert E. Lee
Assassination Tango (2002) .... John J. Anderson
John Q (2002) .... Lt. Frank Grimes
A Shot at Glory (2000) .... Gordon McLeod
The 6th Day (2000) .... Dr. Griffin Weir
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) .... Otto Halliwell
Deep Impact (1998) .... Capt. Spurgeon 'Fish' Tanner
The Gingerbread Man (1998) .... Dixon Doss
The Apostle (1997) .... Euliss 'Sonny' Dewey - The Apostle E.F.
Phenomenon (1996) .... Doc Brunder
A Family Thing (1996) .... Earl Pilcher Jr.
The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) .... Adolf Eichmann
The Scarlet Letter (1995) .... Roger Chillingworth
The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995) .... Mr. Cox
*"
Sling Blade" (1994)... Carl's father
Falling Down (1993) .... Prendergast
Stalin (1992) (TV) .... Josef Stalin
The Handmaid's Tale (1990) .... The Commander
Days of Thunder (1990) .... Harry Hogge
Lonesome Dove (1989) (TV) .... Augustus McCrae
Colors (1988) ... Officer Bob Hodges
The Natural (1984) .... Max Mercy
Tender Mercies (1983) .... Max Sledge
The Great Santini (1979)....Bull Meechum
Apocalypse Now (1979) .... Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore
The Godfather: Part II (1974) .... Tom Hagen
The Conversation (1974) (uncredited) .... The Director
The Outfit (1973) .... Earl Macklin
Joe Kidd (1972) .... Frank Harlan
Tomorrow (1972) .... Jackson Fentry
The Godfather (1972) ....
Tom HagenLawman (1971) .... Vernon Adams
THX 1138 (1971) .... THX 1138
The Revolutionary (1970) .... Despard
M*A*S*H (1970) ....
Frank BurnsThe Rain People (1969) .... Gordon
True Grit (1969) .... Ned Pepper
Bullitt (1968) .... Weissberg
Countdown (1968) .... Chiz
The Detective (1968) .... Nestor
The Chase (1966) .... Edwin Stewart
Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) .... Capt. Paul Cabot Winston
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) .... Arthur 'Boo' Radley
*
Political contributions of Robert Duvall*
Classic Movies (1939 - 1969): Robert Duvall*
Robert Duvall Fan Page*
'Napalm' speech tops movie poll The BBC
