Robert Duvall

Robert Selden Duvall (born January 5, 1931) is an Academy Award-winning American film actor and director.

Biography

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

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).

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 Mercies

Nominations:

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 Action

Personal 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.

Political views

Duvall has been known for his sympathetic views towards military regimes in Latin America such as Pinochet and the argentinian military who he claims despite their crimes prevented a communist take-over of Latin America. He has also been a supporter of the U.S. embargo against Cuba and as an outspoken opponent of cuban leader Fidel Castro. In 2004 he made a public verbal attack against Steven Spielberg for visiting Cuba on a cultural exchange visit which included Spielberg visiting a Jewish Holocaust memorial in Havana. Duvall attacked Spielberg on a statement circulated by the anti-castro Miami press - which is now known to be false - that Spielberg considered his lengthy meeting with Castro the most important hours of his life. Duvall has also compared Castro's Cuba to the Nazi Holocaust, which has disturbed some Holocaust survivors, who consider such statements and analogies careless and anti-semitic.

Partial filmography

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 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
Part II (1974) .... Tom Hagen
The Conversation (1974) (uncredited) .... The Director
Joe Kidd (1972) .... Frank Harlan
Tomorrow (1972) .... Jackson Fentry
The Godfather (1972) .... Tom Hagen
Lawman (1971) .... Vernon Adams
THX 1138 (1971) .... THX 1138
The Revolutionary (1970) .... Despard
M*A*S*H (1970) .... Frank Burns
The 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

External links

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