"I've always remembered something Sanford Meisner, my acting teacher, told us. When you create a character, it's like making a chair, except instead of making someting out of wood, you make it out of yourself. That's the actor's craft – using yourself to create a character."
Robert Selden Duvall (born January 5, 1931 in San Diego, California) is an American actor and filmmaker whose career spans more than seven decades. In that time, he has performed in film, television, and theatre roles ranging from drama to science fiction to action to period pieces and earned a truckload of awards and nominations.
No relation to Shelley Duvall. James Caan was his longtime roommate.
Filmography
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Film roles
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) as Boo Radley
- Countdown (1967) as Chiz
- Bullitt (1968) as Weissberg – Cab Driver
- True Grit (1969) as Ned Pepper
- The Rain People (1969) as Gordon
- M*A*S*H (1970) as Maj. Frank Burns
- THX 1138 (1971) as THX
- The Godfather (1972) as Tom Hagen
- The Godfather Part II (1974) as Tom Hagen
- Joe Kidd (1972) as Frank Harlan
- The Conversation (1974) as The Director (uncredited)
- The Killer Elite (1975) as George Hansen
- The Seven Per Cent Solution (1976) as Dr. John H. Watson
- Network (1976) as Frank Hackett
- The Eagle Has Landed (1976) as Col. Radl
- The Greatest (1977) as Bill McDonald
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) as Priest on Swing (uncredited)
- Apocalypse Now (1979) as Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore
- The Great Santini (1979) as Bull Meechum
- True Confessions (1981) as Det. Sgt. Tom Spellacy
- Tender Mercies (1983) as Mac Sledge note
- The Natural (1984) as Max Mercy
- Let's Get Harry (1986) as Norman Shrike
- Colors (1988) as Bob Hodges
- The Handmaid's Tale (1990) as Commander
- Days of Thunder (1990) as Harry Hogge
- Newsies (1992) as Joseph Pulitzer
- The Plague (1992) as Joseph Grand
- Falling Down (1993) as Prendergast
- Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) as Al Sieber
- The Paper (1992) as Bernie White
- Something to Talk About (1995) as Wyly King
- The Scarlet Letter (1995) as Roger Chillingworth
- Phenomenon (1996) as Doc
- Sling Blade (1996) as Karl's Father
- The Gingerbread Man (1998) as Dixon Doss
- Deep Impact (1998) Spurgeon Tanner
- A Civil Action (1998) as Jerome Facher
- Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) as Otto Halliwell
- A Shot at Glory (2000) as Gordon McLeod
- The 6th Day (2000) Dr. Griffin Weir
- John Q. (2002) as Lt. Frank Grimes
- Gods and Generals (2003) as Gen. Robert E. Lee
- Open Range (2003) as Boss Spearman
- Secondhand Lions (2003) as Hub
- Kicking & Screaming (2005) as Buck Weston
- Thank You for Smoking (2005) as Captain
- Lucky You (2007) L.C. Cheever
- We Own The Night (2007) as Burt Grusinsky
- Four Christmases (2008) as Howard
- The Road (2009) as Old Man
- Crazy Heart (2009) as Wayne
- Jack Reacher (2012) as Cash
- The Judge (2014) as Joseph Palmer
- In Dubious Battle (2016) as Bolton
- Widows (2018) as Tom Mulligan
- Hustle (2022) as Rex Merrick
- The Pale Blue Eye (2022) as Jean Pepe
Television roles
- Route 66 (3 episodes, 1961–63) as Roman/Arnie/Lee Winters
- The Defenders (3 episodes, 1961–65) as Al Rogart/Luke Jackson/Bill Andrews
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1 episode, 1962) as Bart Collins
- The Untouchables (1 episode, 1963) as Eddie Moon
- The Twilight Zone (1 episode, 1963) as Charley Parkes
- The Virginian (1 episode, 1963) as Johnny Keel
- The Fugitive (3 episodes, 1963–65) as Eric Christian/Leslie Sessions
- Kraft Suspense Theatre (1 episode, 1964) as Harvey Farnsworth
- The Outer Limits (3 episodes, 1964) as Louis Mace/Adam Ballard
- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1 episode, 1965) as Zar
- Combat! (3 episodes, 1965–67) as Karl/Peter Halsman/Michel
- The F.B.I. (5 episodes, 1965–69) as Joseph Maurice Walker/Johnny Albin/Ernie Milden/Joseph Troy/Gerald Wilson
- The Felony Squad (1 episode, 1966) as Allie Froelich
- The Time Tunnel (2 episodes, 1967) as Raul Nimon
- Cimarron Strip (1 episode, 1967) as Joe Wyman
- The Wild Wild West (1 episode, 1967) as Dr. Horace Humphries
- The Mod Squad (1 episode, 1969) as Matt Jenkins
- The Terry Fox Story (TV movie, 1983) as Bill Vigars
- Lonesome Dove (4 episodes, 1989) as Augustus 'Gus' McCrae
- Stalin (TV movie, 1992) as Josef Stalin
- Hemingway & Gellhorn (TV movie, 2012) as Russian General (uncredited)
- The American Experience (1 episode, 2005) as Narrator (voice)
- Broken Trail (TV movie, 2006) as Prentice Ritter
Video game roles
- The Godfather (2006) as Tom Hagen (voice)
