Robert Duvall

Actors

Robert Selden Duvall (born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker whose career spans more than six decades. He has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning for his performance in Tender Mercies (1983). Other award nominations include seven Golden Globe Awards (winning four), as well as winning a BAFTA, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy Award. He received the National Medal of Arts in 2005.

Duvall began appearing in theater during the late 1950s, moving into television and film roles during the early 1960s, making his film debut playing Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), with Gregory Peck. This was followed by roles in Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), with Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Eddie Albert, and Bobby Darin; Nightmare in the Sun (1965), with John Derek, Ursula Andress, Aldo Ray, Sammy Davis Jr.; The Chase (1966), with Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, and Robert Redford; The Detective (1968), with Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, and Jacqueline Bisset; Robert Altman‘s Countdown (1968), with James Caan, Joanna Moore, and Ted Knight; Peter Yates‘s Bullit (1968), with Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Bisset; Henry Hathaway‘s True Grit (1969), with John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glenn Campbell, and Dennis Hopper; Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Rain People (1969), with Shirley Knight and Caan.

Duvall’s career took off in the 1970s, with roles in Altman’s blockbuster comedy M*A*S*H (1970), with Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt, and Elliott Gould; The Revolutionary (1970), with Jon Voight and Seymour Cassel; George Lucas‘s THX 1138 (1971), with Donald Pleasance; Lawman (1971), with Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Lee J. Cobb; Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), with Brando, Al Pacino, Caan, John Cazale, Talia Shire, and Diane Keaton; Tomorrow (1972); which he considers a personal favorite; Philip Kaufman’s The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), with Cliff Robertson; John Sturges‘s Joe Kidd (1972), with Clint Eastwood and John Saxon.

Later 1970s roles include Sam Peckinpah‘s The Killer Elite (1975), with Caan, Mako, Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins, Burt Young, and Gig Young; Breakout (1975), with Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, John Huston, Sheree North, and Randy Quaid; The Eagle Has Landed (1976), with Michael Caine, Sutherland, and Jenny Agguter; The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976), with Nicol Williamson, Alan Arkin, and Laurence Olivier; Sidney Lumet’s Network (1976), with Faye Dunaway, William Holden, and Peter Finch; The Greatest (1977), with Muhammad Ali, Ernest Borgnine, and James Earl Jones; Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979), with Martin Sheen, Brando, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford, and Hopper; and The Great Santini (1979), with Blythe Danner and Michael O’Keefe.

Films in the 1980s True Confessions (1981), with Robert De Niro and Burgess Meredith; The Stone Boy (1984), with Frederic Forrest, Glenn Close, Wilford Brimley, Linda Hamilton, Dean Cain, and Jason Presson: Barry Levinson’s The Natural (1984), with Robert Redford; Let’s Get Harry (1986), with Michael Schoeffling, Thomas F. Wilson, Glenn Frey, Rick Rossovich, Ben Johnson, Mark Harmon, Gary Busey; Belizaire the Cajun (1986), with Armand Assante; The Lightship (1986), with Klaus Maria Brandauer, Arliss Howard, and William Forsythe; Hotel Colonial (1987), with John Savage, Rachel Ward, Massimo Troisi, and Anna Galiena; and Colors (1988), with Sean Penn.

Films in the early to mid 1990s include Tony Scott‘s Days of Thunder (1990), with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Caroline Williams, and Michael Rooker; The Handmaid’s Tale (1990), with Natasha Richardson, Dunaway, Aidan Quinn, and Elizabeth McGovern; Rambling Rose (1991), with Laura Dern, Lukas Haas, John Heard, and Diane Ladd; Newsies (1992), with Christian Bale, David Moscow, Bill Pullman, and Ann-Margret; The Plague (1992), with William Hurt, Sandrine Bonnaire, and Raul Julia; Joel Schumacher‘s Falling Down (1993), with Michael Douglas, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993), with Richard Harris, Sandra Bullock, Shirley MacLaine, and Piper Laurie; Walter Hill’s Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), with Wes Studi, Jason Patric, Gene Hackman, and Matt Damon; and Ron Howard‘s The Paper (1994), with Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, and Randy Quaid.

Films in the mid to late 1990s include Lasse Hallström’s Something to Talk About (1995), with Julia Roberts, Gena Rowlands, Kyra Sedgwick, and Dennis Quaid; The Scarlett Letter (1995), with Demi Moore and Gary Oldman; Sling Blade (1996), with Billy Bob Thornton (who also directed); Phenomenon (1996), with John Travolta, Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, and Jeffrey DeMunn; The Apostle (1997), with John Beasley, Farrah Fawcett, Walton Goggins, Thornton, June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Joe Shaver; Altman’s The Gingerbread Man (1998), with Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Berenger, and Daryl Hannah, Famke Janssen; A Civil Action (1998), with Travolta, James Gandolfini, Dan Hedaya, John Lithgow, William H. Macy, Kathleen Quinlan, and Tony Shaloub; and Deep Impact (1998), with Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, and Morgan Freeman.

Roles in the 2000s include Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), with Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Christopher Eccleston, Vinnie Jones, Delroy Lindo, Chi McBride, and Will Patton; The 6th Day (2000), with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, and Michael Rapaport; John Q (2002), with Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise, Anne Heche, James Woods, and Ray Liotta; Gods and Generals (2003), with Jeff Daniels, Stephen Lang, and Mira Sorvino; Secondhand Lions (2003), with Caine and Haley Joel Osment; Open Range (2003), with Kevin Costner (who also directed), Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, and Michael Jeter; Kicking & Screaming (2005), with Will Ferrell; and Jason Reitman‘s Thank You For Smoking (2005), with Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, David Koechner, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, Macy, and J.K. Simmons.

Films in the mid to late 2000s include Lucky You (2007), with Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, and Debra Messing; We Own the Night (2007), with Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and Eva Mendes; Four Christmases (2008), with Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau, Tim McGraw, Dwight Yoakam, and Kristin Chenoweth; Crazy Heart (2009), with Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Colin Farrell; The Road (2009), with Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, and Garret Dillahunt; and Get Low (2009), with Bill Murray, Spacek, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, and Bill Cobbs.

Films in the 2010s include Seven Days in Utopia (2011), with Melissa Leo; Jayne Mansfield’s Car (2012), with John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, Frances O’Connor, Ron White, and Robert Patrick; Jack Reacher (2012), with Cruise, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Richard Jenkins, Jai Courtney, and Werner Herzog; The Judge (2014), with Downey Jr., Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, and Thornton; Wild Horses (2015), with James Franco, Josh Hartnett, Adriana Barraza, Jim Parrack, and Luciana Duvall; In Dubious Battle (2016), with Franco, Nat Wolff, Josh Hutcherson, D’Onofrio, Selena Gomez, Keegan Allen, and Ed Harris; and Widows (2018), with Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, and Liam Neeson.

Duvall has also been in various TV movies and miniseries including Flesh and Blood (1966), with Edmond O’Brien; Lonesome Dove (1989), with Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane, and Anjelica Huston; Stalin (1992), with Julia Ormond and Joan Plowright; Broken Trail (2006), with Thomas Hayden Church; and Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), with Kidman, Clive Owen, David Strathairn, and Parker Posey.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

  • John Brown’s Raid (1960) – directed by Sidney Lumet – TV movie
  • To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – directed by Robert Mulligan
  • Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) – directed by David Miller
  • Nightmare in the Sun (1965) – directed by Marc Lawrence
  • The Chase (1966) – directed by Arthur Penn
  • Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966) – directed by Stuart Rosenberg – TV movie
  • Flesh and Blood (1968) – directed by Arthur Penn – TV movie
  • The Detective (1968) – directed by Gordon Douglas
  • Countdown (1968) – directed by Robert Altman
  • Bullitt (1968) – directed by Peter Yates
  • True Grit (1969) – directed by Henry Hathaway
  • The Rain People (1969) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
  • M*A*S*H (1970) – directed by Robert Altman
  • The Revolutionary (1970) – directed by Paul Williams
  • THX 1138 (1971) – directed by George Lucas
  • Lawman (1971) – directed by Michael Winner
  • The Godfather (1972) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
  • The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) – directed by Philip Kaufman
  • Tomorrow (1972) – directed by Joseph Anthony
  • Joe Kidd (1972) – directed by John Sturges
  • The Outfit (1973) – directed by John Flynn
  • Badge 373 (1973) – directed by Howard W. Koch
  • Lady Ice (1973) – directed by Tom Gries
  • The Conversation (1974) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola – uncredited
  • The Godfather Part II (1974) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
  • The Killer Elite (1975) – directed by Sam Peckinpah
  • Breakout (1975) – directed by Tom Gries
  • The Eagle Has Landed (1976) – directed by John Sturges
  • The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976) – directed by Herbert Ross
  • Network (1976) – directed by Sidney Lumet
  • We’re Not the Jet Set (1977) – director only – documentary
  • The Greatest (1977) – directed by Tom Gries
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – directed by Philip Kaufman – uncredited
  • The Betsy (1978) – directed by Donald Petrie
  • Ike (1979) – directed by Basil Sagal & Melville Shavelson – miniseries
  • Apocalypse Now (1979) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
  • The Great Santini (1979) – directed by Lewis John Carlino
  • True Confessions (1981) – directed by Ulu Grosbard
  • The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper (1981) – directed by Roger Spottiswoode
  • Tender Mercies (1983) – directed by Bruce Beresford – also co-producer
  • Angelo My Love (1983) – director, writer, producer only
  • The Terry Fox Story (1983) – directed by Edward Hume – TV movie
  • The Stone Boy (1984) – directed by Christopher Cain
  • The Natural (1984) – directed by Barry Levinson
  • Let’s Get Harry (1986) – directed by Stuart Rosenberg
  • Belizaire the Cajun (1986) – directed by Glen Pitre
  • The Lightship (1986) – directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
  • Hotel Colonial (1987) – directed by Cinzia Th. Torrini
  • Colors (1988) – directed by Dennis Hopper
  • Lonesome Dove (1989) – directed by Simon Wincer – miniseries
  • A Show of Force (1990) – directed by Bruno Barreto
  • Days of Thunder (1990) – directed by Tony Scott
  • Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre’s Best Kept Secret (1990) – directed by Nick Doob – documentary – himself
  • The Handmaid’s Tale (1990) – directed by Volker Schlöndorff
  • Rambling Rose (1991) – directed by Martha Coolidge
  • Convicts (1991) – directed by Peter Masterson
  • Newsies (1992) – directed by Kenny Ortega
  • The Plague (1992) – directed by Luis Puenzo
  • Stalin (1992) – directed by Ivan Passer – TV movie
  • Falling Down (1993) – directed by Joel Schumacher
  • Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) – directed by Randa Haines
  • Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) – directed by Walter Hill
  • The Paper (1994) – directed by Ron Howard
  • Something to Talk About (1995) – directed by Lasse Hallström
  • The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995) – directed by James Keach
  • The Scarlet Letter (1995) – directed by Roland Joffé
  • Sling Blade (1996) – directed by Billy Bob Thornton
  • A Family Thing (1996) – directed by Richard Pearce – also co-producer
  • Phenomenon (1996)* – directed by Jon Turtletaub
  • The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) – directed by William A. Graham – TV movie
  • The Apostle (1997) – also director, writer, executive producer
  • The Gingerbread Man (1998) – directed by Robert Altman
  • A Civil Action (1998) – directed by Steven Zaillian
  • Deep Impact (1998) – directed by Mimi Leder
  • Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) – directed by Dominic Sena
  • The 6th Day (2000) – directed by Roger Spottiswoode
  • A Shot at Glory (2000) – directed by Michael Corrente – also producer
  • John Q. (2002) – directed by Nick Cassavetes
  • Assassination Tango (2002) – also director, writer, producer
  • Gods and Generals (2003) – directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
  • Secondhand Lions (2003) – directed by Tim McCanlies
  • Open Range (2003) – directed by Kevin Costner
  • Kicking & Screaming (2005) – directed by Jesse Dylan
  • Thank You for Smoking (2005) – directed by Jason Reitman
  • Broken Trail (2006) – directed by Walter Hill – miniseries
  • Lucky You (2007) – directed by Curtis Hanson
  • We Own the Night (2007) – directed by James Gray
  • Four Christmases (2008) – directed by Seth Gordon
  • Crazy Heart (2009)* – directed by Scott Cooper – also co-producer
  • The Road (2009) – directed by John Hillcoat
  • Seven Days in Utopia (2011) – directed by Matt Russell
  • Jayne Mansfield’s Car (2012) – directed by Billy Bob Thornton
  • Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012) – directed by Philip Kaufman – TV movie
  • Jack Reacher (2012) – directed by Christopher McQuarrie
  • A Night in Old Mexico (2013) – directed by Emilio Aragón
  • The Judge (2014) – directed by David Dobkin
  • Wild Horses (2015) – also director, writer
  • In Dubious Battle (2016) – directed by James Franco
  • Widows (2018) – directed by Steve McQueen
  • 12 Mighty Orphans (2021) – directed by Ty Roberts
  • Hustle (TBA) – directed by Jeremiah Zagar