Robert Selden Duvall was born January 5, 1931, inSan Diego, California,[1][2][3][4] to Mildred Virginia Duvall (née Hart), an amateur actress, and Rear Admiral William Howard Duvall of theUnited States Navy.[5][6][7] The second of three sons, he grew up alongside an elder brother, William Jr., and a younger brother, John, who later became an entertainment lawyer.[8] His father descended from early Maryland settlerMareen Duvall.[9]
His father had expected him to attend the Naval Academy, but Duvall said "I was terrible at everything but acting—I could barely get through school". He instead served in theUnited States Army[13] after theKorean War, from August 19, 1953, to August 20, 1954, leaving asprivate first class.[14] "That's led to some confusion in the press," he explained in 1984, "Some stories have me shooting it out with theCommies from afoxhole over in Frozen Chosin.Pork Chop Hill stuff. Hell, I barely qualified with theM-1 rifle inbasic training".[11] While stationed at Camp Gordon inGeorgia, he appeared in an amateur production of the comedyRoom Service in nearbyAugusta.[12]
In the winter of 1955, Duvall attended theNeighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City,[11] studying underSanford Meisner on theG.I. Bill. His classmates includedDustin Hoffman,Gene Hackman, andJames Caan.[11][15][16][17] While training, he worked as a Manhattan post office clerk. Until his death, he remained close friends with fellow California-born actors Hoffman and Hackman (who died in 2025), whom he had known since their years as struggling actors.[18] In 1955, Duvall roomed with Hoffman in a New York City while they studied together at the Playhouse,[19][20] and around the same time also shared accommodation with Hackman while working odd jobs such as clerking atMacy's, sorting mail, and driving a truck.[12]
Duvall began his professional acting career with theGateway Playhouse, anEquity summer theater based inBellport,Long Island, New York. His stage debut was in its 1952 season, when he played the Pilot inLaughter in the Stars, an adaptation ofThe Little Prince, at what was then the Gateway Theatre.[21]
During Gateway's 1956 season, his third with the company, Duvall played Max Halliday inFrederick Knott'sDial M for Murder (July 1956), Virgil Blessing in Inge'sBus Stop (August 1956), and Clive Mortimer inJohn Van Druten'sI Am a Camera (August 1956). Playbills that year described him as "an audience favorite" in the last season and as having "appeared at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and studied acting with Sandy Meisner this past winter".[23]
In its 1957 season, Duvall appeared as Mr. Mayher inAgatha Christie'sWitness for the Prosecution (July 1957), as Hector inJean Anouilh'sThieves' Carnivall (July 1957), and the role which he once described as the "catalyst of his career": Eddie Carbone inArthur Miller'sA View from the Bridge, from July 30 to August 3, 1957, and directed byUlu Grosbard, who was by then a regular director at the Gateway Theatre.[24] Miller himself attended one of Duvall's performances as Eddie, and during that performance he met important people which allowed him, in two months, to land a "spectacular lead" in theNaked City television series.[15]
While appearing at the Gateway Theatre in the second half of the 1950s, Duvall was also appearing at the Augusta Civic Theatre, the McLean Theatre inVirginia and theArena Stage inWashington, D.C. The 1957 playbills also described him as "a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse" (indicating that he had completed his studies there by the summer of 1957), "a member of Sanford Meisner's professional workshop" and as having worked with Alvin Epstein, amime and a member ofMarcel Marceau's company. By this time, also July 1957, his theatrical credits included performances as Jimmy inThe Rainmaker and as Harvey Weems inHorton Foote'sThe Midnight Caller.[25][26]
Already receiving top-billing at the Gateway Playhouse, in the 1959 season, he appeared in lead roles as Stanley Kowalski inTennessee Williams'A Streetcar Named Desire (July–August 1959), Maxwell Archer inOnce More with Feeling, Igor Romanoff inPeter Ustinov'sRomanoff and Juliet, and Joe Mancuso in Kyle Crichton'sThe Happiest Millionaire (all in August 1959).[27]
At the Neighborhood Playhouse, Meisner cast him in Tennessee Williams'Camino Real and the title role of Harvey Weems in Foote'sone-act playThe Midnight Caller. The latter was already part of Duvall's performance credits by mid-July 1957.[25][26][28]
His film debut was asBoo Radley in the critically acclaimedTo Kill a Mockingbird (1962). He was cast in the film on the recommendation of screenwriterHorton Foote, who met Duvall atNeighborhood Playhouse during a 1957 production of Foote's play,The Midnight Caller. Foote, who collaborated with Duvall many more times over the course of their careers, said he believed Duvall had a particular love of common people and ability to infuse fascinating revelations into his roles. Foote described Duvall as "our number one actor".[34]
AfterTo Kill a Mockingbird, Duvall appeared in a number of films during the 1960s, mostly in midsized parts, but also in a few larger supporting roles. Some of his more notable appearances include the role of Capt. Paul Cabot Winston inCaptain Newman, M.D. (1963), Chiz inCountdown (1967), and Gordon inThe Rain People. Duvall had a small part as a cab driver who ferries McQueen around just before the chase scene in the filmBullitt (1968). He was the notorious malefactor "Lucky" Ned Pepper inTrue Grit (1969), in which he engaged in a climactic shootout withJohn Wayne'sRooster Cogburn on horseback.[citation needed]
By the mid-1970s Duvall was a topcharacter actor;People described him as "Hollywood's No. 1 No. 2 lead".[13] Duvall received another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and won both a BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as Lt. Colonel Kilgore inApocalypse Now (1979). His line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" fromApocalypse Now is regarded as iconic in cinema history. The full text is:[35]
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. But the smell! You know – that gasoline smell... the whole hill! Smelled like... victory. (Pause) Some day this war is going to end...
"You can't concoct or push ahead something other than what you have at that moment as yourself, as that character. It's you at that moment in time. ... Between action and cut, it's a nice world, but you can't force that any more than you can force it in life."
Duvall continued appearing in films during the 1980s, including the roles of a detective inTrue Confessions (1981), a disillusioned sportswriter Max Mercy inThe Natural (1984) and Los Angeles police officer Bob Hodges inColors (1988). He won an Oscar for Best Actor ascountry western singer Mac Sledge inTender Mercies (1983). Duvall did his own singing, insisting it be added to his contract that he sing the songs himself. Duvall said, "What's the point if you're not going to do your own [singing]? They're just going to dub somebody else? I mean, there's no point to that."[34]
ActressTess Harper, who co-starred, said Duvall inhabited the character so fully that she only got to know Mac Sledge and not Duvall himself. DirectorBruce Beresford, too, said the transformation was so believable to him that he could feel his skin crawling up the back of his neck the first day of filming with Duvall. Beresford said of the actor, "Duvall has the ability to completely inhabit the person he's acting. He totally and utterly becomes that person to a degree which is uncanny."[34] Duvall and Beresford did not get along well during the production and often clashed during filming, including one day in which Beresford walked off the set in frustration.[34]
In 1989, Duvall appeared in the miniseriesLonesome Dove in the role of CaptainAugustus "Gus" McCrae, Texas Rangers (retired). He considered this particular role to be his personal favorite.[36] He won a Golden Globe Award and earned an Emmy Award[37] nomination. For his role as a former Texas Ranger peace officer, Duvall was trained in the use of Walker revolvers by the TexasmarksmanJoe Bowman.[citation needed]
ForThe Godfather Part III (1990), Duvall declined to reprise the role of Tom Hagen unless he received a salary comparable toAl Pacino's. In 2004, he told60 Minutes, "if they paid Pacino twice what they paid me, that's fine, but not three or four times, which is what they did."[38] In 1992, he founded the production company Butcher's Run Films.[39] Duvall maintained a busy film schedule throughout the 1990s, sometimes appearing in as many as four films in a single year. He received Academy Award nominations for his portrayals ofevangelical preacher Euliss "Sonny" Dewey inThe Apostle (1997)—which he also wrote and directed—and attorney Jerome Facher inA Civil Action (1998).[citation needed]
Duvall continued to work in television from the 1990s onward. He won a Golden Globe Award and received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Soviet PremierJoseph Stalin in the 1992 television filmStalin. He earned another Emmy nomination in 1997 for portrayingAdolf Eichmann inThe Man Who Captured Eichmann. In 2006, he won an Emmy for his performance as Prentice "Print" Ritter in theAMC miniseriesrevisionist Western miniseriesBroken Trail.[citation needed]
Duvall had been married four times and did not have any children. "I guess I'mshooting blanks," he said in 2007.[46] He added, "[I've tried] with a lot of different women, in and out of marriage."[46] He met his first wife, Barbara Benjamin,[2] a former announcer and dancer onThe Jackie Gleason Show, during the filming ofTo Kill a Mockingbird.[47] She had also appeared inGuys and Dolls (1955) andThe Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963) under the name Barbara Brent.[48] Benjamin had two daughters from a previous marriage,[47] and she and Duvall were married from 1964 until 1975.[2]
His second marriage was to Gail Youngs, to whom he was married from 1982 to 1986.[2] Through Youngs, he was briefly the brother‑in‑law ofJohn Savage,[11][49]Robin Young, andJim Youngs.
Duvall's third marriage was to Sharon Brophy, a dancer, from 1991 to 1995.[2]
In 2005, Duvall married his fourth wife,Luciana Pedraza, granddaughter ofArgentine aviation pioneerSusana Ferrari Billinghurst.[50] He met Pedraza inArgentina, recalling, "The flower shop was closed, so I went to the bakery. If the flower shop had been open, I never would've met her."[51] Both were born on January 5, though Duvall was 41 years older.[52] They had been together since 1997. He produced, directed, and acted with her inAssassination Tango, much of which was filmed in Buenos Aires. Duvall was known as a skilled Argentine tango dancer and maintained tango studios in both Argentina and the United States.[18][50][53]
In September 2008, he appeared onstage at aJohn McCain–Sarah Palin rally inNew Mexico, and he endorsed Republican presidential nomineeMitt Romney in 2012.[57] In 2014, Duvall said in an interview that he may becomeindependent due to the Republican Party being a mess at that point.[58]
In 2001, Pedraza and Duvall founded the Robert Duvall Children's Fund to assist families in Northern Argentina through the renovation of homes, schools, and medical facilities.[59] They were also active supporters of Pro Mujer, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping some of Latin America's poorest women, with their efforts focused on Pedraza's home region in theArgentine Northwest.[60][61]
In February 2023, Duvall addressed a council meeting in suburban Virginia to oppose a proposedAmazon facility. The project was approved despite his objections.[64]
^abDuvall biography at program booklet for"Thieves' Carnival"(PDF).Gateway Theatre. July 23–27, 1957.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 16, 2010. RetrievedJanuary 3, 2012.
^ab1957_Playbill_WitnessFortheProsecution.pdf at gatewayplayhouse.com/Archive/Playbill/1957. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
Horton Foote,Genesis of an American Playwright (Longview, Texas: Markham Press Fund of Baylor University Press, 2004): p. 103. Retrieved from Google Books, December 31, 2011.
Roy M. Anker,Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004): p. 138. Retrieved from Google Books, December 31, 2011.
William Esper, Remembrance of Sanford Meisner at TheWilliam Esper Studio, esperstudio.com. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
Robert Feinberg,Interview: Robert Duvall Reflects on 50 Years of Great Screen Roles (Friday, July 30, 2010) at scottfeinberg.com. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
Robert Duvall Biography inJournal of Religion and Film (1998). Retrieved at robertduvall.net23.net, January 2, 2012.
Mancin, Elaine (1992). "Duvall, Robert". In Nicholas, Thomas (ed.).International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers: Actors and Actresses. St. James Press. pp. 313–315.
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