A much admired character actor and star who has appeared in films since 1963, often in strong supporting roles, achieving overdue public and critical acclaim in the late 1970s. With his severe looks and balding pate, he has played his share of villains as well as stern, authoritarian figures. In his starring roles, however, he has shown great vulnerability in his effective understated performances. Duvall, adept at accents, has played Englishmen and upper-crust characters, but he has been most memorable in a long string of roles as southerners. The son of a naval officer, young Duvall spent his youth traveling around the country as a military brat. Nicknamed "Bodge" as a boy, he nearly flunked out of Principia College before he found his interest in learning rekindled by the school's drama teacher, after which he decided to become an actor.
Duvall made his film debut in the small but important role of Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1963). The performance set the standard for his work for more than 15 years; he would so radically transform himself into whatever character he played that he was virtually unrecognizable from movie to movie. Duvall gave strong supporting performances in a host of commercially and critically successful films during the 1960s and 1970s, and, even to this day, most people remember the roles but not him! For instance, he played a catatonic officer in Captain Newman, M.D. (1964), JOHN WAYNE's nemesis in True Grit (1969), Major Frank Burns in M*A*S*H (1970), a cold, ruthless TV executive in Network (1976), and Dr. Watson in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976).
Duvall had acted in FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA's lowbudget experimental film, Rain People (1969), beginning a professional relationship that eventually helped turn the actor into a star. Early on, Coppola suggested Duvall as the lead (and his first starring role) for GEORGE LUCAS's THX- 1138 (1971), and in 1972, Coppola cast him in the pivotal supporting role as Don Corleone's attorney in The Godfather (1972). The film was, of course, a spectacular hit and Duvall was offered a great many other supporting roles in films such as The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), Badge 373 (1973), as well as three more Coppola films, The Conversation (1974), The Godfather, Part II (1974), and Apocalypse Now (1979), the last of which brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
By this time, film fans were beginning to appreciate the artistry of Duvall's performances. After his long career as a lead supporting actor, he was given top billing in The Great Santini (1980) and turned the small-budget family film into a critical and box-office hit as well as a personal triumph, winning an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Duvall has been on an upswing ever since, starring with ROBERT DE NIRO in the controversial True Confessions (1981) and finally receiving the full accolades of his profession by winning his first Oscar for Best Actor for his richly humanistic portrayal of a down-and-out country-western singer, Mac Sledge, in Tender Mercies (1983).
Duvall has been involved in other creative pursuits besides acting. He has put considerable energy, as well as his own money, into two films, both of which he directed: a documentary called We're Not the Jet Set (1977) and a feature film, Angelo, My Love (1983). The latter received excellent reviews and had a modest success on the art-house circuit. As often happens after an actor reaches the pinnacle of his or her success, a sudden lull appeared in Duvall's career. He has, for instance, played in support of ROBERT REDFORD in The Natural (1984) and lent his stature to a small family film, The Stone Boy (1984), which featured his second wife, Gail Youngs, in a small role, but he didn't reappear in a hit until 1988 when he starred in DENNIS HOPPER's controversial gang warfare film, Colors, after which he won raves for his work in the TV miniseries production of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove in 1989.
Duvall flourished during the 1990s, often in independent features such as Sling Blade (1996) and The Apostle (1997), which he wrote, directed, and produced, besides starring in the lead role. The Los Angeles Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics named him Best Actor for The Apostle, and he also earned an Academy Award nomination in that category. Other notable roles during the 1990s were in The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Rambling Rose (1991), Falling Down (1993), and The Gingerbread Man (1997). In 1995 Duvall played a particularly corrosive and demented Chillingworth in the foolishly expanded Scarlet Letter. A huge talent and a master of accents and mannerisms, Robert Duvall has appeared in more than 50 films, mostly in intelligently chosen roles.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Webworldarticles.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
This article was sent to us by:
Alice Lealand at
08122010
1. Antiheroes and antiwar Hollywood film productions and their stars
All articles in this directory are property of their respective authors. Additionally, read our Privacy Policy
© 2010 WebWorldarticles.com - All Rights Reserved. Partners: Gunblade Saga