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Robert Duvall

Actor / Producer

1 title

  • Date of Birth: 1931-01-05 (Passed away at age 95)
  • Nationality: United States United States
  • Place of birth: San Diego, California, USA
Awards:
He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He has starred in numerous films and television series, including The Twilight Zone (1963), Bullitt (1968), True Grit (1969), The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Conversation (1974), Network (1976), Apocalypse Now (1979), Tender Mercies (1983) (which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor), The Natural (1984), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Days of Thunder (1990), Falling Down (1993), Secondhand Lions (2003), The Judge (2014), and Widows (2018).

Mini Bio

Robert Selden Duvall (January 5, 1931 – February 15, 2026) was an American actor and filmmaker. Duvall began appearing in theater in the late 1950s, moving into television and film roles during the early 1960s, playing Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and appearing in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), as Major Frank Burns in the blockbuster comedy M*A*S*H (1970) and the lead role in THX 1138 (1971), as well as Horton Foote's adaptation of William Faulkner's Tomorrow (1972), which was developed at The Actors Studio and is his personal favorite. This was followed by a series of critically lauded performances in commercially successful films. His final role was in The Pale Blue Eye (2022).

Backstage

  • Was roommates and good friends with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman while all were struggling stage actors in New York before any of them succeeded. Among the three, Hoffman and Duvall were known for their ways with the women, and Duvall and Hackman were known for their short fuses, which led to numerous bar fights. The three often bonded over elaborate practical jokes.
  • He says the work he is most proud of by far is his role as the former Texas Ranger Augustus McCrae in the miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989).
  • With the death of Rosemary Murphy on July 5, 2014, he became the last surviving credited adult cast member of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
  • Fractured several ribs after falling off a horse while rehearsing for a role in Open Range (2003). (April 2002)
  • He has appeared in eight films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), M\*A\*S\*H (1970), The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), Network (1976), Apocalypse Now (1979) and Tender Mercies (1983). The Godfather and The Godfather Part II won in the category.
  • Joined the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and studied under Sanford Meisner for two years. Dustin Hoffman, James Caan and Gene Hackman were classmates.
  • Received his honorary degree (Doctor of Arts) from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia (1998).
  • Has directed one Oscar nominated performance: his own in The Apostle (1997).
  • Being descended from Robert E. Lee, he can actually trace his family back to Pres. George Washington. Washington himself had no biological children, but his wife, Martha Custis, did, and he adopted them after the death of Martha's first husband. Her son, John Custis, had a son of his own, Washington Custis, whose daughter, Mary Custis, was Robert E. Lee's wife. Interestingly, Duvall played Lee in Gods and Generals (2003), opposite Jeff Daniels, who had played Washington in The Crossing (1990). Duvall starred in the adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
Movies

Movies

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